In a bid to integrate operations of Vodafone and Idea Cellular, both the companies have formed a project management office as the nodal body spearheaded by former CEO of Vodafone Romania Ravinder Takkar, according to a report by the Economic Times, which also added that common teams have already been set up that now report to this project management office.
The report added that Takkar is overlooking the integration.
"The special teams formed will look into finance, procurement, operations and are working on how to run their operations, optimise networks and give maximum benefit to the customer...the technology team is looking to tools like customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning and various apps that can be combined for the newly merged company," a source was quoted as saying by the publication.
Notably, both the companies have already started the exercise to shortlist senior executives that will play key roles in the merged entity. It is expected that 100 senior management staff from each company are being assessed for suitability in the merged company.
Furthermore, Vodafone India has already appointed former DEN Network CFO, Manish Dawar, as it finance head who will take on the role in the merged entity, even through Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has already been named the chairman of the merged company.
The ET report said that global consulting firm Bain & Company is advising both the telcos on the overall strategies of the merger.
Idea Cellular currently employs around 11,000 plus, while Vodafone India has around 10,000 people working. The merger with both the companies is most likely to be completed in the first half of next year.
Earlier some news report said that the merger might well close as early as the end of March 2018, ahead of the official estimates of September next year.
The proposed merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular will create the nation’s largest telecom operator. A new Vodafone-Idea entity would have about 400 million users, exceeding current market leader Bharti Airtel’s 288 million.
The combined entity will also be the largest by revenue market share of around 40% share with combined revenue of Rs 78,000 crore, and 35% customer market share. Bharti Airtel is currently the leader in revenue terms.
