’Deeply grateful’: Anil Ambani thanks his brother Mukesh Ambani for paying Ericsson dues
Live MintAsia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has helped his younger brother avert a stint in jail, stepping in to make an $80 million payment for his sibling Anil whose telecom-to-infrastructure empire is struggling under the weight of debt. The embattled former billionaire, Anil Ambani, thanked his brother Mukesh, and his sister-in-law, after Reliance Communications Ltd. completed the required ₹5.5 billion payment to the local unit of Ericsson AB for past maintenance services. The stock plummeted 60 percent in 2018 as Anil Ambani struggled to close a 2017 deal to sell spectrum, signal towers and fiber to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., a new service provider controlled by his elder brother, for 173 billion rupees. The Swedish equipment maker’s relentless legal pursuit led to a settlement under which RCom was to pay half of the past claims, or ₹5.5 billion -- an offer backed by a personal guarantee from Ambani.