Idea Cellular was
incorporated as Birla Communications in 1995 after
GSM licenses were won in
Gujarat and
Maharashtra circles. The
company name was changed to Idea Cellular and the
brand Idea was introduced in 2002 after a series of name changes following
mergers and
joint ventures with
Grasim Industries,
AT&T Corporation and
Tata Group. Following the exit of AT&T Corporation and Tata Group from the joint venture in 2004 and 2006 respectively, Idea Cellular became a
subsidiary of
Aditya Birla Group.
Malaysia based
Axiata had bought around 20%
stake in the
company in 2008 for US$2 billion. Idea previously bought a 40.8% stake in
Spice Telecom, for over 2,700 crore.
Merger with Vodafone India The entry of
Jio in 2016 had led to various
mergers and consolidations in the Indian
telecom sector. It was announced in March 2017 that even Idea Cellular and
Vodafone India would be merged. The merger got approval from
Department of Telecommunications in July 2018. On August 30, 2018,
National Company Law Tribunal gave the final nod to the Vodafone-Idea merger The merger was completed on 31 August 2018, and the newly merged entity was named
Vodafone Idea. The merger created the largest
telecom company in India by subscribers and by revenue. Under the terms of the deal, the
Vodafone Group holds a 45.2% stake in the combined entity, the Aditya Birla Group holds 26% and the remaining
shares will be held by the public. On 7 September 2020, Vodafone Idea unveiled this new
brand identity, Vi, which involved the integration of the company's erstwhile separate brands Vodafone India and Idea Cellular into one unified brand. == Operations ==