Piramal Healthcare to Buy 5.5 Per Cent in Vodafone Essar for $640 Million

Mumbai: Piramal Healthcare, headed by one of India Inc's savviest deal-makers, Ajay Piramal, has agreed to buy 5.5% stake in Vodafone Essar, one of India's largest telecom companies, for $640 million. In a late evening announcement on Wednesday, Vodafone said Piramal Healthcare has agreed to buy the stake from Essar Teleholdings, which holds about 11% in the company. The deal values Vodafone Essar at about $11.6 billion, lower than the $16 billion the company fetched when UK-based Vodafone Plc agreed to purchase Essar Group's holding earlier this year.