Hutch Essar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hutch Essar Limited | |
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | |
| Headquarters | Mumbai, India |
| Key people |  Asim Ghosh, CEO |
| Industry | Telecom |
| Products | Mobile Telecommunication operator |
| Slogan | Wherever you go, our network follows. |
| Website | Hutch |
Hutch is a major national cellular operator in India that covers most of the country. In Mumbai it was earlier known by the name Orange. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros. It is often praised for its award winning advertisements which all follow a clean, minimalist look. A recurrent theme is that its message Hi stands out visibly though it uses only black letters on white background. Another recent successful ad campaign in 2003 featured a dog following a boy around in unlikely places, with the tagline, Wherever you go, our network follows.
On 11 February 2007 Vodafone agreed to acquire a controlling interest of 67% in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Anil Ambani group's Reliance Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, owner of the remainder. Hutch is India's fourth largest mobile provider. The company has offered to buy Essar's stake on the same terms.
Contents |
[edit] Branding Change
Recently (in 2006) Orange was renamed as Hutch, using a pink background in advertising material instead of the previous orange colour. Before the transition, Mumbai was overrun with billboards that simply said "Bye". A week later, the same billboards, along with the rest of the country, sported the Hutch tristar in a new, vivid pink. At the time, Mr. Naveen Chopra, corporate vice president, group marketing, Hutchison Essar, said, "The idea is just to refresh the brand, and inculcate a new 'Hutch spirit'." But the brand makeover had less to do with creating excitement and more with renouncing the Orange brand to Orange Telecom and creating the new pan-Indian Hutch brand. With Vodafone acquiring 67% of Hutch for U$11.1b, Vodafone is going to replace the Hutch brand with the Vodafone brand.
[edit] Acquisition
Hutch (in mid 2006) bought BPL mobile (a smaller Indian rival), in a deal valued at $1.15 billion. After the acquisition, Hutch has close to a 53% stake (which includes direct and indirect holdings), while Essar has over 30%. The remaining stakes are held by Kotak group (8%) and Hindujas and Max (together 8%).
[edit] Stake Sale
 |
This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
The Hong Kong based company Cheung Kong Holdings recently put their ~67% percent share in Hutch on sale. On 11th February, 2007, the stake was bought by Vodafone, valuing the company at USD 18.8 billion [1] (Essar still currently holds the other 33%).
[edit] Subscriber Base
The Hutch subscriber base according to COAI - Cellular Operator Association of India[2] as of May 2006 is:
- Delhi - 1,924,306 (Hutchison Essar)
- Mumbai - 2,098,102 (Hutchison Max)
- Chennai - 474,180 (Hutchison Essar)
- Kolkata - 1,049,443 (Hutchison Telecom)
- Andhra Pradesh - 922,987 (Hutchison Essar)
- Karnataka - 1,195,925 (Hutchison Essar)
- Punjab - 706,026 (Hutchison Essar)
- Uttar Pradesh (West) - 726,757 (Hutchison Essar)
- West Bengal & Andaman and Nicobar - 580,582 (Hutchison Telecom)
The total is 9,678,308, or 12.85% of the total 75,290,092 mobile connections in India[citation needed].
[edit] External links
| Cheung Kong Holdings |
| Cheung Kong Holdings | Hutchison Whampoa | Hongkong Electric | Cheung Kong Life Sciences | TOM Group |
