Number crunching Hutch's value

More players are entering the fray to pick up a stake in Hutch. And as numbers are bandied back and forth, one thing is certain - the company's valuations are attractive. After all, Hutch clocks the highest revenues per minute, beating rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications hands down.

And while it lags behind its rivals, when it comes to average revenues per user, it pips them in the minutes of usage. On these terms, Hutch makes more per minute of usage, than either Reliance Communications or Airtel. Hutch also offers better value-added services, which helps boost its revenues.

For the third largest player, which commands a near-pan India presence, analysts are quoting an enterprise value of around USD 12-14 billion. Compared to Reliance Communication's enterprise value of USD 22 billion and Bharti's USD 26 billion, that's a pretty reasonable figure.

And that's not all! Going by these valuations, the cost of one Hutch customer works out to USD 556-646. It's bang in the middle of the range at which recent global deals have been clinched between USD 450 and 1,000 per subscriber, while that of Hutch's rivals works out at the higher end of the range.

The price at which the deal is finally struck, will determine exactly how attractive the purchase will be. It will also determine the final cost breakeven. And with so many players vying for a piece of the cake, the final price is anybody's guess.