Piramal Healthcare to acquire 5.5% stake in Vodafone Essar

Piramal Healthcare has entered into an agreement with Vodafone Group to pick up a 5.5% stake in Vodafone-Essar. It will buy this stake from Essar Group company ETHL Communications Holdings, for around Rs 2,856 crore.

The transaction follows the settlement between Vodafone and Essar over the sale of Essar's approximately 33% stake in Vodafone-Essar, which was announced on July 1, 2011. The deal is in line with Piramal's objective of earning 19% internal rate of return (IRR). And, it contemplates various exit mechanisms for Piramal, including both participation in a potential initial public offering of VEL and a sale of its stake to Vodafone. (HERE's expert review on the deal) Sources indicate that Piramal as two years to exit if the IPO doesn't materialise and would get USD 900 million if sold to Vodafone, whose value is close to USD 19 billion.