MS, Nokia vie for Hughes Software

By siliconindia   |   Monday, 22 March 2004, 20:30 IST
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MUMBAI: Five global giants have bid for RupertMurdochÂ’s 55 per cent stake in Hughes Software Systems (HSS), including Microsoft, the worldÂ’s biggest software company founded by the worldÂ’s richest man, Finnish cellphone maker Nokia, and US-based software firm EDS. Thursday was the last date for submitting preliminary bids for the Delhi-based telecom software services company. International private equity funds CDC Capital Partners and Warburg Pincus have also evinced interest in MurdochÂ’s stake in Hughes Software. The media baron is being advised by Mumbai-based investment banker Merrill Lynch. Hughes Software provides software services to telecom equipment makers like Lucent, Motorola and Cisco, and handset companies like Ericsson. News Corporation acquired a 55.4 per cent stake in Hughes Software in April 2003 as a part of its $3.8 billion acquisition of parent company Hughes Corporation in the US .