Mumbai, July 21: Reliance Infocomm will soon decide on roping in strategic investors to help it grow from a telephone major to a new-economy powerhouse straddling broadband and direct-to-home (DTH) television.

Temasek Holdings and the Carlyle Group are reportedly in talks with Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises (ADAE) for picking up a stake in the unlisted firm. Merchant bankers say the two bulge-bracket foreign institutional investors might be given a 10 per cent stake ahead of the company?s initial public offering (IPO), planned sometime around November or December.

An Infocomm spokesperson refused to say anything on the issue, saying it was the firm?s policy ?not to comment on speculation?.

However, merchant bankers say the company was next in line for the fund infusion, after group firms Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital had been given their share of the funds. Infocomm could require at least Rs 15,000 crore over the next few years.

Only last month, the board of Reliance Industries valued Infocomm at Rs 22,528 crore. In doing so, it untied one of knots in a proposed de-merger of the group by converting a Rs 8,100-crore loan to Infocomm into equity shares.

The firm?s equity increased to Rs 704 crore, while Reliance?s stake went up to 65.9 per cent. The conversion took place at a price of Rs 32 per share.