Vodafone Idea clears air on talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink

Vodafone Idea on Tuesday said it is not in talks to tie up with Elon Musk’s satellite internet firm Starlink, Reuters reported.

The telecom firm’s clarification comes after the shares had surged in the past two sessions, this after business publication BusinessWorld had reported that the Tesla CEO was looking to buy a stake in Vodafone Idea to help Starlink enter the Indian market.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) had also asked Vodafone Idea for a clarification on the news report. In a statement, the company said,”We would like to submit that the company is not in any such discussion with the named party. We are not aware of the basis of the said news item.

The said news report was published last Friday after the company’s stocks had surged by 21 per cent. The shares of Vodafone Idea jumped by another 6 per cent on Monday.

But the shares fell by five per cent following the clarification today afternoon.

Vodafone’s India unit merged with Aditya Birla Group’s Idea Cellular in 2018 to form Vodafone Idea, and has partnered with Starlink’s rival, Amazon.com’s Kuiper for internet networks in Europe and Africa. Kuiper does not operate in India.

Domestically, Bharti Airtel and Reliance’s Jio are market leaders in the telecom sector, snatching subscribers from debt-ridden Vodafone Idea, which has not reported a profit since it was formed. Bharti and Reliance also own satellite companies.