Sibling clash kills Reliance/MTN deal talks

India's Reliance Communications and South Africa's MTN said they ended negotiations that would have resulted in a merger to create a new international wireless giant covering much of the Middle East and Asia. The sibling rivalry between the brothers Anil and Mukesh Ambani, who run Reliance Communications and Reliance Industries respectively, created potential legal and regulatory hurdles that proved insurmountable before today's planned deadline for the deal talks. Mukesh Ambani had claimed his unit had right of first refusal for any deal that would change the control structure of Reliance Communications.

This probably is not the first merger to die amid sibling rivalry, but it is probably the biggest, right? Reliance has been a growing global force in telecom in recent years, and it will be interesting to see how the company rebounds from this disappointment, and if it pursues another wireless-focused merger.

For more:
- read this story [1] at The Wall Street Journal

Related articles:
Reliance and MTN were encountering hurdles earlier this month. Reliance report [2]
Reliance Globalcom absorbed Yipes earlier this year. Reliance report [3]