Tata Sons to pay $1.18 bn to DoCoMo

NEW DELHI:  Tata Sons, the promoter of the major operating Tata companies, has agreed to pay $1.18 billion (Rs 7,876 crore) to Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo for transfer of the latter's shares to Tata Teleservices Ltd.

"Tata Sons is pleased to announce that in the interests of putting an end to a dispute that had arisen with NTT DoCoMo, Japan, and in the larger national interest of preserving a fair investment environment in India, it has reached an agreement with NTT DoCoMo on a joint approach to enable enforcement of the June 22, 2016, London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) award. As a gesture of good faith and in accordance with the Tata group’s long-standing record of adherence to contractual commitments that it has always enjoyed both in India and abroad, the board of Tata Sons has decided to withdraw its objections to the enforcement of the award in India,"  a statement said.

"The parties have jointly applied to the Delhi High Court, requesting that it accept their agreed terms of settlement, subject to such further orders as the Court sees fit. The settlement terms, if approved by the Delhi High Court, clear the way for the $1.18 billion already deposited by Tata Sons with the Delhi High Court to be paid to DoCoMo, and would allow DoCoMo to transfer its shares in Tata Teleservices Limited," it said.

As part of this joint application, and in anticipation of the matter being finally resolved in India, DoCoMo has agreed to suspend its related enforcement proceedings in the United Kingdom and the United States for a period of time.

This agreement between the parties is a significant step towards resolution of this dispute, and both Tata Sons and DoCoMo are hopeful that they will continue to work together constructively to achieve a resolution of this case as well as will look to further collaboration in the future.