Anil Ambani, the billionaire Indian industrialist, is considering linking up with private equity groups on his bid to gain a powerful foothold in South African mobile operator MTN, people familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Private equity groups have expressed interest in supporting Mr Ambani’s plan to swap all or most of his majority stake in his Indian company, Reliance Communications, for up to 34.9 per cent of MTN, the people said.