N Chandrasekaran’s stint as the chief of Tata Sons started on a positive note with the Indian conglomerate putting an end to its dispute with NTT DoCoMo over the jointly held telecom business.

This paves the way for the Tata group to merge the telecom business with one of the existing operators.

The agreement comes after Tata Sons changed its stance to back the Japanese company’s plea in the Delhi High Court to enforce a $1.18-billion award by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). The Tatas had so far opposed NTT DoCoMo’s appeal on grounds that it goes against the rules laid down by the Reserve Bank of India.

On its part, NTT DoCoMo agreed to suspend its related enforcement proceedings in the UK and the US for a certain period.

“As a gesture of good faith and in accordance with the Tata group’s long-standing record of adherence to contractual commitments that it has always enjoyed both in India and abroad, the Board of Tata Sons has decided to withdraw its objections to the enforcement of the award in India,” said a Tata Sons statement.

The parties have jointly applied to the Delhi High Court, requesting that it accept their agreed terms of settlement, subject to such further orders as the Court sees fit. The settlement terms, if approved by the Delhi High Court, clear the way for the $1.18 billion already deposited by Tata Sons with the Delhi High Court to be released to NTT DoCoMo. Consequently, the Japanese company will transfer its shares in Tata Teleservices Ltd.

“This agreement is a significant step towards resolution of this dispute, and both Tata Sons and NTT DoCoMo are hopeful that they will continue to work together constructively to achieve a resolution of this case as well as will look to further collaboration in the future,” the statement added.

Merger talks Meanwhile, sources said that Tata Tele could be part of the ongoing merger talks between Reliance Communications and Aircel.

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