India's Tata Teleservices is reportedly planning to remove the DoCoMo brand from its telecom brand Tata DoCoMo following NTT DoCoMo's exit from the venture.
Tata Teleservices, a part of the Tata Group, plans to build a new brand for its telecom venture without the DoCoMo name, a source told the Economic Times.
The agreement with DoCoMo to use the brand expires in June and will likely not be renewed, according to the report. A brand-building exercise for the new name is likely to commence this year.
Tata Teleservices has declined to officially comment on the source's claims.
In April last year, NTT DoCoMo announced plans to exit its investment in Tata Teleservices, exercising an option to sell back the stake at 50% of the price it paid. The company asked Tata Group to find a suitable buyer for the stake.
In January, DoCoMo took Tata Group to international arbitration after the latter company failed to find a buyer in time. That month, the Reserve Bank of India cleared Tata Group's proposal to buy back the stake for a total of 72.5 billion rupees ($1.16 billion).
As part of the divestment process, the two companies reached an arrangement in June whereby Tata could continue to use the DoCoMo brand for at least a year in return for a marginal royalty.