New Delhi: Vodafone and Idea, which are merging themselves, are likely to operate as a single entity from April this year.

The merger, approved last week by the National Company Law Tribunal, will materialise as early as April, sources in Idea said.

The combined entity will be the largest operator in India with over 400 million subscribers and about 41 per cent revenue share in the telecom business.

The two companies, however, still need a go-ahead from the department of telecom (DoT) to implement the merger. Sources said the DoT nod was expected by January-end. Anti-trust watchdog Competition Commission and market regulator Sebi have already given their approvals.

Last year, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular had agreed to merge their operations to create the country's largest telecom operator worth more than $23 billion and with a 35 per cent market share.

The merger will eclipse Bharti Airtel and pose a formidable challenge to new entrant and market disruptor Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.

At present, Bharti Airtel leads the telecom market in India having 24 per cent of the subscriber pie. After the merger, Vodafone, which already has 18 per cent of the subscriber base, will add 16 per cent from Idea.

The Vodafone-Idea merged entity will have an enterprise value of over Rs 1,60,000 crore. Vodafone will own a 45.1 per cent stake in the new firm, while the Aditya Birla group, which runs Idea, will own a 26 per cent stake. The remaining 28.9 per cent will be held by other shareholders.

The merger agreement is based on equal rights and shareholding between Idea Cellular's promoters and Vodafone Group.

India is the world's second-largest telecom market after China but a bruising price war has slashed profitability ever since Reliance Jio entered the market.

Jio has focused on data and offered free voice calls, forcing others to follow suit. This in turn meant huge cuts in profitability and losses for many operators.

Earlier, Bharti Airtel had said it would buy out Telenor India in a deal which analysts saw as being prompted by competition from Reliance Jio.

The consolidation in the industry is likely to result in four big players fighting for market share - Airtel-Telenor, Jio, Vodafone-Idea and Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications-Aircel, said analysts.