Micromax planning to buy a stake Pantech

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Micromax has been on a roll in India. It has beaten bigwigs like Nokia, HTC and Sony to become the number to smartphone maker in the country. It also has shown global ambitions by launching its product line in Russia. Now, according to a report, Micromax is gunning for a stake in South Korean smartphone maker, Pantech.

Pantech is South Korea's number 3 smartphone maker, but it is going through some troubled times. It's under a debt restructuring programme after suffering losses for 6 consecutive quarters.

While nine creditor banks own a stake of 37 percent in the company, top draw ARM chipset maker Qualcomm owns a 12 percent stake and Samsung, Micromax's chief rival in India owns a 10 percent stake in the company.

Multiple sources according to the report have stated that Micromax wants to have a stake in the South Korean company.

Micromax's success has been widely acknowledged. Google's VP and head of Android and Chrome, Sundar Pichai has recognised the company as a big driver for Android in developing countries like India. Also, a couple of weeks back, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore welcomed Micromax, to the Windows Phone family at its BUILD developer conference showcasing a Windows Phone based device that the company is developing.