LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Vodafone said on Mondayit was in talks to merge its Indian operations with rival IdeaCellular in an all-share deal that could help thegroups counter the fierce competition in the market.
In a short statement, Vodafone said it was in talks withIdea's parent, conglomerate Aditya Birla. It said any mergerwould involve Idea issuing new shares to Vodafone and wouldresult in Vodafone deconsolidating Vodafone India.
Shares in Vodafone were up 3.5 percent in early trading. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by William Schomberg)