Bezeq has been planning to sell off its stake, but has not been able to find a buyer for the same and, hence, has decided to hang on to the venture. It will not bring in any fresh equity investment. Bezeq owns 16 per cent in the existing Rs 350-crore equity of the company. This would go up to Rs 500 crore following the equity infusion.

On the other hand, Shinawatra, which holds a 33 per cent stake, higher than the Hinduja group's 30 per cent, too is unlikely to be able to bring in its entire contribution given the hard days that it has fallen upon owing to the south-east-Asianeconomic crisis. Thailand was among the worst hit economies.

To top it all, Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd, the original promoter, had already diluted its stake to the minimum permissible level of 10 per cent. Now that it can go below this level (following the expiry of the three year period), it might well decide to dilute its stake by not participating in the equity expansion.

That leaves only Kotak Mahindra which has a 10 per cent stake in the venture. Sources said the company would bring in fresh funds only if it felt that it was a good decision as it was in the venture purely as an investor looking for good returns.

"The stake recast is on the cards. Bezeq will not be making any fresh investment owing to a decision taken globally, while the financial state of Shinawatra too casts doubt on whether it would be able to bring in its Rs 50 crore equity component. HFCL has from the very beginning been diluting its stake in the venture and had sold off 30 per cent to the Hinduja group.

They werejust hanging on to their stake owing to regulatory restrictions. As none of these players are going to be able to find buyers in this state of flux that the industry is going through, they would end up diluting their equity by not taking part in the equity expansion, said an industry source.

The Hinduja group, on the other hand, is extremely confident of making a business from the cellular venture. It has met with good success so far and feels that if the policy changes can come through swiftly it could well grow at a spectacular pace.

"The company has already notched up a subscriber base of close to 50,000 in two years of operations. Its revenue per subscriber is one of the best in the industry. If the policy goes in its favour and considering that it can develop good synergies with its broadcasting, cable and internet businesses, the group sees itself as a major power in the convergence industry," said the source.