Ambani brothers strike telecoms deal The telecoms arms of Indian billionaire brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani have struck an alliance that provides the clearest evidence yet of a rapprochement in one of Asia's most high-profile corporate family feuds. The pact will see Mukesh Ambani's new fourth-generation telecoms business pay to use the fibre optic network of his younger brother's struggling corporate flagship Reliance Communications. RCom said the Rs12bn ($221m) deal will be the first stage of a broader business co-operation between the companies, raising expectations of further action that could potentially bolster Anil Ambani's flagging business fortunes. The move has huge symbolic significance in India following the protracted battle that forced the Ambani brothers in 2005 to split in two the Reliance empire their father had founded and built into the nation's most valuable listed company. Often described in terms worthy of Shakespeare, the bitter struggle for control between the two brothers that preceded the 2005 split became one of the most discussed episodes in recent Indian business history. It is still often described simply as "the war" by associates who worked with both men at the time. The brother's hostilities abated only after a 2010 peace deal brokered by their mother. Both men agreed to a non-compete agreement, forbidding each other to enter sectors in which the other had business interests. Talk of potential co-operation between the two halves of Reliance followed quickly after the conclusion of that deal in 2010, but despite frequent rumours Tuesday's agreement represents the first firm deal struck by the brothers. Personal relations between the Ambanis are understood to have been more cordial in recent times, according to business associates who know both men, with the two coming together for family events and the younger Ambani recently attending a social gathering at his elder brother's residential skyscraper in Mumbai. Shares in Reliance Communications, Anil Ambani's group, closed up about 12 per cent on news of the deal with Reliance Jio Infocomm, part of his elder brother's Reliance Industries conglomerate. RCom said this agreement "is the first in an intended comprehensive framework of business co-operation between Reliance Jio Infocomm and Reliance Communications." Tuesday's deal comes as Mukesh Ambani plans to launch a superfast fourth-generation telecoms business later this year, raising industry speculation that he would seek a deal with his brother's telecoms company to avoid some of the costs associated with building his own infrastructure from scratch. Reliance Industries declined to comment, but those familiar with the negotiations described the terms as a "good financial deal" for the elder Ambani brother. Pradip Shah, chairman of IndAsia Fund Advisors, a Mumbai-based financial services group, said: "This is a small deal, but I think it is a win-win, given that RCom needs the additional revenues and Reliance needs the infrastructure. So the brothers have done a good service to each other. But it also shows they have both made peace on a personal basis and so it seems they will be open to commercial agreements in other areas too, which will certainly attract the attention of their competitors around India and beyond.