Vodafone, Idea Cellular 'exploring' merger?

Vodafone India and Idea Cellular may be engaged in talks that may lead to a potential merger between the two telecom companies, an exclusive story by CNBC TV-18 has said. 

CNBC TV-18 quoted unnamed sources to say that the two telecom companies were in 'exploratory talks' that could conclude in a merger. 

If true, then the combined Idea-Vodafone entity could dethrone Airtel as the market leader in India. However, it is this exact reason that may have the deal run into trouble with the competition-watcher. 

According to data from Trai, Vodafone has 19.79 crore subscribers in India while Idea Celluar has 17.46%. Airtel leads with 25.22 crore subscribers as of April this year. 

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) may raise a red flag to the alleged deal as the combined entity's market share may cross 50% in some circles, MoneyControl said in a report. 

On the news, Idea Cellular's shares quickly climbed on the BSE. The telco's shares were at Rs 100.80, up Rs 6.35 or 6.72% from previous day's close. Even BSE which was trading in the red for most of the day, inched up above the red line.