If the Jio-Deutsche Telekom deal comes through, it will be the first telco acquisition by an Indian telco in Europe.

Gagandeep Kaur, Contributing Editor

August 12, 2021

2 Min Read
India's Jio may bid for T-Mobile Netherlands – report

India's Reliance Jio is in talks to acquire a stake in Deutsche Telekom's Netherlands subsidiary, according to media reports.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio is working with an advisor to evaluate an offer for T-Mobile Netherlands. Deutsche Telekom is working with Morgan Stanley on the sale and is seeking around €5 billion (US$5.9 billion) for any deal. It is the second-largest telco in the Netherlands.

Figure 1: Going Dutch: Reliance Jio appears to be interested in buying T-Mobile Netherlands - a European first for an Indian telco. (Source: OXLAEY.com on Flickr, CC 2.0) Going Dutch: Reliance Jio appears to be interested in buying T-Mobile Netherlands – a European first for an Indian telco.
(Source: OXLAEY.com on Flickr, CC 2.0)

While Jio is certainly cash-rich, acquiring more than $20 billion in funding last year, it is unclear why Jio would want to purchase a stake in a telco in Europe. The only other European country where Reliance Jio has a presence is Estonia, a research and knowledge center.

Open markets

The company had made clear its intention to sell its open RAN solution in the international market after deploying it at scale in India. In addition, it acquired US-based Radisys in 2018 for $74 million.

Jio's rival Bharti Airtel acquired Zain's Africa operations in 2010 to start operations on the continent.

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However, the African market is similar to India's telecom space in several aspects, including low ARPU and the massive digital divide. Airtel has also made other acquisitions in developing countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

If the Jio-Deutsche Telekom deal comes through, it will be the first telco acquisition by an Indian telco in Europe.

Clearly, the two companies will have a lot to learn from each other if the acquisition is successful, as it might be a precursor to more such acquisitions by Jio.

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— Gagandeep Kaur, contributing editor, special to Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Gagandeep Kaur

Contributing Editor

With more than a decade of experience, Gagandeep Kaur Sodhi has worked for the most prominent Indian communications industry publications including Dataquest, Business Standard, The Times of India, and Voice&Data, as well as for Light Reading. Delhi-based Kaur, who has knowledge of and covers a broad range of telecom industry developments, regularly interacts with the senior management of companies in India's telecom sector and has been directly responsible for delegate and speaker acquisition for prominent events such as Mobile Broadband Summit, 4G World India, and Next Generation Packet Transport Network.

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