Reliance Comm says no statement on MTN yet

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reliance Communications said it would not be making a statement on Tuesday on the status of its talks with South Africa's MTN Group, the exclusivity of which was due to expire at the end of the day.

In Johannesburg, a spokeswoman for MTN could not be reached after the stock market closed for the day without a statement being issued. Earlier, the company had said it would be issuing a statement.

In India, a source with knowledge of the matter said talks may continue between the two for a deal which could create a top-10 global telecoms firm, but may not be exclusive any more.

Reliance Communications, India's No. 2 mobile operator, began exclusive talks with MTN on May 26, replacing larger rival Bharti Airtel Ltd who called off talks after failing to agree on a deal structure.

"(The) exclusivity period may not be extended, but talks to continue," the source told Reuters.

Media reports and a source had earlier indicated the two firms were aiming at a reverse takeover, with a share swap that would give the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group the largest shareholding in MTN and make Reliance Communications a subsidiary of MTN.

That triggered a claim of right of first refusal from Mukesh Ambani, who runs Reliance Industries, the estranged older brother of Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani, and analysts had said the risk of legal action was an obstacle to a deal.

A deal with MTN, sub-Saharan Africa's top mobile operator, could create a telecoms firm with operations in about two dozen countries and around 120 million subscribers.

When the talks opened, Reliance Communications had a market capitalisation of $28 billion and MTN $38 billion but a sharp slide in markets has hit valuations.

(Additional reporting by Narayanan Somasundaram in MUMBAI and Gugulakhe Lourie in JOHANNESBURG)