It was the merger that would have created the largest cellular company in India. When cellular giants Birla-ATT-Tata Batata and BPL Communications signed an agreement in June 2001 to form a joint venture, industry participants were agog with enthusiasm about the prospects for the telecoms industry in India. Everyone assumed it was a done deal and the merger would have accounted for 24% of cellular subscribers covering 44% of the population and 51% of all fixed line telephone users.
A year later, the joint venture is still grounded and is mired in controversy and uncertainty. The merger deal, worth $2.1 billion, would have seen BPL holding a 49.32% take in the new venture with...
