Aircel CEO may head new entity post merger with RCom

MUMBAI: Kaizad Heerjee, the chief executive officer of Aircel, has emerged as a strong contender to head an entity being planned by combining the wireless operations of Reliance Communications with the company, which could emerge as a strong No. 4 telco in India’s intensely competitive telecom market.
Heerjee has been offered a two-year extension on his contract, two people familiar with the negotiations said.Heerjee declined to comment on the matter and referred queries to the company spokesperson. However, “there are still some ongoing discussions on the matter, especially to see if the two companies find another mutually agreeable person who can be a joint head with Heerjee,” one of the people said.
A third person said that the management positions will be finalized only once the deal is signed, which is expected within a week to 10 days. Currently, Gurdeep Singh is the CEO of RCom’s consumer business. RCom and Aircel have been in exclusive talks since December on a much-anticipated amalgamation in what would be the first in-market telecom merger of national scale in the country.
As per terms of the pact, RCom will hive off its wireless business into a separate arm, which will be combined with Maxis-owned Aircel, with both companies having equal ownership. The new $6 billion entity proposed will remain unlisted in the initial years and operate under a new brand name. The forerunner among brand names at the moment is ‘Aircomm’ although there is no sign-off on it, the two people said.

The third person said both parties will have equal representation on the board and the management will be “jointly handled.” RCom declined to comment. Aircel said, “The discussion between the two shareholders is currently ongoing and at this point of time, any specific information related to these discussions would be purely speculative.”
Heerjee was nominated CEO of Aircel in end-2013 after that post lay vacant for almost eight months. He was chief operating officer under Sandip Das, who left his position as Aircel CEO to join Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm. Heerjee had joined Aircel from Malaysian operator U Mobile a year before he became CEO. He has been at the helm of the company during its worst phase as it scaled back operations in India amid a hyper competitive market and limited fund infusion from the parent. To his colleagues he is known as someone who diligently executes shareholder mandates, but is perhaps a little alienated from the staff on ground. RCom’s Singh has also been with Aircel — as chief operating officer — in the past.
Another person who asked not to be identified said a block in RCom’s headquarters — Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City -- in a suburb of Mumbai is being cleared up for Aircel staff.