Moving forward on its bid to buy out the Ruia group's 33 per cent stake in their joint venture in India Vodafone Essar, British telecom firm Vodafone Group Plc on Wednesday paid its Indian partner Essar $1.9 billion (Rs22,200 crore) as the first tranche of its $5 billion deal to buy the stake of overseas firm Essar Telecom Ltd, which owns 22 per cent of Vodafone Essar.
The remaining 11 per cent stake is held by the Essar Telecommunications Holdings, another company floated by the group.
The current payment represents 50 per cent of the offshore holding of 22 per cent, which is valued at $3.8 billion. Vodafone is expected to pay the remaining $1.9 billion in November, when the companies hope to close the transaction.
The payment was unofficially confirmed by Essar executives to several newspapers. In London, Vodafone too acknowledged making the payment, though it did not specify the amount.
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