Indian mobile operator Spice Telecom will sell 20% of its equity to raise about $300 million through an initial public offering by the end of the year, an AFP report said.
Dilip Modi, the firm's chief exectuive, said the IPO would be followed by another round to raise $350 million over the next two years, 'depending on government clearance to operate services in new states.'
The company provides mobile phone service in northern Punjab and southern Karnataka states and is looking to invest more than $2 billion to expand its operations throughout India, Modi said in a statement.
'This will be raised through debt, equity and promoter funding,' he said.
Telekom Malaysia currently holds 49% of Spice and MCorp Global, the Indian partner, holds 51%.
The percentage of equity each company would sell in the IPO was not disclosed, the AFP report also said
India, with a population of 1.1 billion, has more than 90 million mobile phone users, according to government figures.
Cuts in call rates being offered by more than 10 companies has driven the boom in mobile phones.
Restrictions on phone services were lifted a decade ago, ending a state monopoly that was divided between two government-owned firms.