BSNL and other Indian telecom operators are trying to expand overseas to help boost revenue as intense competition and expansion into rural areas have led to lower average revenue per user in India.
"The company, with a view to establish itself as a global player in the telecom sector, and to achieve inorganic growth, aims to expand its area of operations, by going for acquisitions or mergers or strategic partnerships or acquiring telecom licenses outside India," a bid document for consultants on the company's Web site showed Tuesday.
The state-owned telecom operator lags rivals such as Bharti Airtel Ltd., which Monday revived merger talks with South Africa's MTN Group Ltd. that would create one of the five largest telecom companies in the industry.
BSNL, India's fourth-largest mobile phone services provider, had 52.14 million subscribers at the end of March, compared with Bharti Airtel, which had 93.92 million subscribers.
The deadline to submit the bids is June 1 and they will be opened the day after - June 2, the company said, adding that it will first shortlist the consultants on their technical capabilities followed by their financial bids.
The consultants should have handled overseas deals for at least five years and shouldn't be working with any of BSNL's competitors, the document showed.
Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile phone operator by users, has hired Standard Chartered Bank and its affiliate First Africa SA (Pty) Ltd. as financial advisors for the merger talks with MTN. Its legal advisors are AZB and Partners and Bowman Gillfillan.
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