NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile operator in Japan may pick up minority stake in Tata Teleservices (TTSL) for over $933 million, reports Reuters. There were reports in the morning that France Telecom was also in the running, but they have since denied that they are in talks. Tata Tele also has a franchise agreement with Virgin Mobile. Worth noting it the fact that Tata Tele is a CDMA operator. With the 3G auctions expected to take place later this year, DoCoMo would like to get a piece of a CDMA operator. The company had indicated earlier this year that they're looking to enter markets in Asia. Worth noting is the fact that DoCoMo had created W-CDMA, a 3G cellular network. In June, DoCoMo had invested $350 million for a 30 percent stake in Bangladeshi carrier TM International. Details of that deal here (pdf). From a VAS perspective, I wonder if companies have hope to see a reversal (literally) of fortune. DoCoMo is famous for giving content providers a revenue share of over 85 percent. Since it's a minority stake, I guess you would settle for, say 70 percent. Right? But hold your horses - the deal isn't confirmed yet.
