Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) is set to buy 49% in India's privately owned Spice Telecom.

The paper said TM's unit, TM International, will buy out the stakes of Ashmore Investments and Deutsche Bank in Spice, which operates cellular services in the northern Punjab state and the southern state of Karnataka.

The cash payout to the two stakeholders could be about US$200 million (RM742.81 million), the paper said, citing unidentified sources. The enterprise value of Spice is estimated at US$600 million, it said.

The deal is expected to be signed within a fortnight. TM, Malaysia's fourth-biggest listed firm, in a statement to Bursa Malaysia earlier this month, said it was in preliminary talks to take a stake in Spice, which would complement its other South Asian investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Last month, the Times of India newspaper had said Maxis Communications Bhd, was also in the race for Spice.

Maxis, which is Malaysia's biggest cell phone provider, in December acquired 74% of Indian mobile operator Aircel in a US$1.08 billion joint venture takeover with India's Apollo Hospital Enterprises Ltd

Mobile phone ownership is surging in India, which has the world's cheapest local mobile call rates. India has more than 81 million mobile phone users. -- Reuters

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