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Bharti-SingTel consortium exit race for VSNL

A consortium of telecoms group Bharti Enterprises and Singapore Telecom said on Monday it had dropped out of the race to acquire control of state-run telecoms giant VSNL being privatised by the government.

"We have decided not to bid for VSNL for strategic reasons. We have taken this strategic decision in the wake of the emerging prospect of winning six-to-seven mobile licences as a fourth cellular operator," the New Delhi-based Bharti said in a statement.

"We shall pursue the international voice telecommunications business when it is opened up to private sector participation next year," the statement said.

The Bharti-SingTel combine is the second group to withdraw from the race to acquire the monopoly overseas telecommunications carrier Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. Last month, the Aditya Vikram Birla group announced it had pulled out of the bidding process.

The government owns a 52.97 per cent stake in the New York Stock Exchange-listed VSNL and is selling 25 per cent to a strategic partner and another 1.97 per cent to VSNL's employees. Six groups had submitted preliminary bids for the firm.

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