Vodafone India seeks bids for 1,200 crore Navi Mumbai data centre facility

Indian telcom giant Vodafone India has sought bids for its Navi Mumbai data centre facility located in the suburb of Mumbai, said two people who were closely linked with the deals.

As per reports in a leading financial daily, two strategic companies are interested in buying it out but at cost for Vodafone, said one of them. The data centre has been built at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore and was commissioned under ex-chief executive Marten Pieters. 

“The data centre is now seen as a cost centre which won’t increase (Vodafone’s) appeal, but in partnership with a bigger strategic could mean stick enterprise business,” the second person said. 

It was part of the company’s strategic plan to get enterprise customers, especially the booming medium segment and startups, the first person said. It was meant to compete with the service offering Tata Teleservices and Tata Communications – that controlled cabled lease line business and had data centeres offered. 

The second person said the value of the asset after the launch may increase and could command a premium from buyers who are at the moment only offering to buy it at cost. “Even if there is a little revenue to show on it, data centres in Asia can be very valuable for strategics,” the person said. 

In 2011, Vodafone had announced a foray into the fixed line business along with instituting a business solutions unit that showcased global connections and offerings such as RFID tracking. The business was expected to treble by the year ended March from about 8-10% of revenue in 2011.

However, as the telecom major gears up towards its initial public offer, bankers said it had too much debt on its books and was set to add more in the just ended spectrum auction, in which Vodafone spent Rs20,280 crores for 4G Airwaves.