Google in talks to buy stake in Vodafone Idea

To get a foothold in India’s telecom market, internet giant Google has initiated discussions to acquire up to 5 per cent stake in Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL). The move, if successful, would also help the American company compete with Facebook in the world’s fastest growing telecom market.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google and Nest, among others, has held a couple of rounds of discussions with VIL. Many other investors have also evinced interest in acquiring a stake in the operator, sources close to the development told BusinessLine.

They, however, did not immediately reveal the names of other investors VIL was in talks with. Financial Times was the first to report on this development on Thursday.