RCom moves ahead with IPO

India's Reliance Communications has received approval to pursue an IPO of its subsea cable business and a listing on the Singapore exchange.
 
Singapore Exchange Securities Trading has granted the operator's Singapore business trust an eligibility to list a little over two months after RCom first detailed its plan.
 
RCom has provided scant details of when the listing might occur, but sources told India's Business Standard that the IPO could be launched in July. The company is seeking to raise roughly $1 billion (€795 million) from the offer, and could divest as much as 75% of its stake in the division.
 
The IPO could be necessary to help the company reduce its $7 billion debt burden. RCom has been trying since last year to sell its Indian tower assets to raise funds, but after an initial deal fell through it appears to have had trouble finding any other takers.
 
RCom's subsea cable subsidiary, Reliance Globalcom, owns and operates a subsea cable network spanning 65,000 km. Together with RCom's terrestrial fiber network, the Globalcom network spans 40 countries.