Maxis favourite to buy 26% of Aircel

Malaysia’s Maxis Communications is set to pay USD280 million for a 26% stake in Indian GSM operator Aircel, in a deal expected to be signed on 30 December. The move is the fourth time that parent Sterling Infotech Group has entered negotiations to sell Aircel, with earlier deals blocked by regulatory red tape. Aircel provides mobile services in the Tamil Nadu, Chennai and Haryana circles, and has a subscriber base of over 2.16 million.