NEW DELHI — Sistema Shyam TeleServices said Wednesday that it expected to receive an investment of more than $600 million from the Russian government as early as September.
“By the end of the third quarter or fourth quarter, we realistically might be closing” the deal after the government approves the proposal, chief executive Vsevolod Rozanov said. The investment will give Russia a stake of about 20 percent in the Indian wireless operator, said Sistema spokesman Vsevolod Sementsov.
Sistema owns a 74 percent stake in the venture with India’s Shyam Group, and has licenses to provide mobile-phone services in all the nation’s 22 service zones. The company, which started services in the world’s second-largest wireless market in March 2009, has signed up more than 5 million customers, the company said.
Sistema Shyam said Dec. 10 that its shareholders had approved a proposal to issue new shares to the Russian government, as well as existing Indian shareholders, in order to raise funds to expand its services.
Shareholders approved the issue of 662.7 million shares to the Federal Property Management Agency at 49.31 rupees ($1.10) apiece, according to the statement on its web site.