<p>South Africa's MTN, the continent's biggest cellphone carrier, could reopen merger talks with Reliance Communications at a board meeting on Tuesday, Economic Times newspaper reported, citing a single unidentified source.<br /><br />The two carriers failed to do a deal two years ago when Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani asserted a right of first refusal on the sale of a stake in Reliance Communications, which is controlled by his brother Anil.</p>.<p> Late last month, the long-estranged Ambani brothers agreed to end the agreement that prevented them from competing on each other's turf in a deal that, among other possible outcomes, was seen to pave the way for Reliance Communications to bring in outside investors.</p>.<p> MTN, which is in talks to buy assets from Egypt's Orascom Telecom, has been thwarted in past efforts to join up with an Indian operator. It twice came close to a tie-up with Bharti Airtel, most recently in September.</p>.<p> An official with Reliance Communications could not immediately be reached for comment. MTN declined to confirm that such a board meeting was taking place, the Economic Times said. A Monday Financial Times story quoted one person familiar with both MTN and Reliance Communications as calling the idea of an MTN return to India "beyond absurd".</p>.<p> Shares in Reliance Communications, locked in a ferocious price war in India's crowded cellular market, were down by 0.55 percent in early Tuesday trade in Mumbai, roughly in line with the broader benchmark.</p>
<p>South Africa's MTN, the continent's biggest cellphone carrier, could reopen merger talks with Reliance Communications at a board meeting on Tuesday, Economic Times newspaper reported, citing a single unidentified source.<br /><br />The two carriers failed to do a deal two years ago when Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani asserted a right of first refusal on the sale of a stake in Reliance Communications, which is controlled by his brother Anil.</p>.<p> Late last month, the long-estranged Ambani brothers agreed to end the agreement that prevented them from competing on each other's turf in a deal that, among other possible outcomes, was seen to pave the way for Reliance Communications to bring in outside investors.</p>.<p> MTN, which is in talks to buy assets from Egypt's Orascom Telecom, has been thwarted in past efforts to join up with an Indian operator. It twice came close to a tie-up with Bharti Airtel, most recently in September.</p>.<p> An official with Reliance Communications could not immediately be reached for comment. MTN declined to confirm that such a board meeting was taking place, the Economic Times said. A Monday Financial Times story quoted one person familiar with both MTN and Reliance Communications as calling the idea of an MTN return to India "beyond absurd".</p>.<p> Shares in Reliance Communications, locked in a ferocious price war in India's crowded cellular market, were down by 0.55 percent in early Tuesday trade in Mumbai, roughly in line with the broader benchmark.</p>