A consortium led by Indian billionaire Anil Ambani is considering taking a majority stake in South African mobile operator MTN to help stave off a potential legal challenge from his elder brother, Mukesh Ambani, to the deal that has been under discussion.

Under the proposed new structure, a special purpose vehicle controlled by Mr Ambani with co-investment from global private equity and Middle East sovereign wealth funds would own 51 per cent of MTN, said one person familiar with the deal.