Brief

NTT DOCOMO and Tata Group’s alliance

(L to R): Anil Sardana- MD of Tata Teleservices; Ratan Tata- Chairman of Tata Group; Ryuji Yamada- President & CEO of NTT DOCOMO; Masatoshi Suzuki- Senior Executive Vice President and Member of Board of Directors of NTT DOCOMO at the announcement of the strategic alliance

NTT DOCOMO and Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) and Tata Sons—the prime promoter for Tata companies including TTSL have joined hands on their agreement on a strategic alliance in India, under which DOCOMO will acquire 26% of TTSL’s stock for approximately Rs 13,070 crore ($2.7 billion). DOCOMO will work closely with TTSL’s management and provide know-how to help the company develop its mobile business. TTSL expects to leverage DOCOMO’s expertise in the development and delivery of value-added services, where DOCOMO is an established market leader.

In addition, DOCOMO in accordance with regulations of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, expects to make an open offer to acquire up to 20% of outstanding equity shares of Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Limited (TTML), a Tata telecommunication company, through a joint tender offer along with Tata Sons. As a result of the capital alliance, the partners expect to expand mobile communication operations in the fast-growing Indian mobile market, aiming to increase operating revenue and achieve steady business growth.

TTSL and TTML, both based in Mumbai, are telecommunications units of the Tata business, India’s largest conglomerate in terms of operating revenues. Both companies have high-quality wireless networks spanning the entire country and also have a large number of retail stores and customer-service outlets. TTSL and TTML have rapidly increased their combined share of the fast-growing Indian mobile market. They are rapidly expanding their subscriber bases, which currently stand at over 30 million combined.

Tokyo-based DOCOMO, a mobile operator has played a major role in the evolution of mobile telecommunications through its development of cutting-edge technologies and services. The company is a strong market leader used by over 50% of Japan’s mobile phone users.