Indian businessmen the Hinduja brothers have unexpectedly dismissed reports they had pulled out of the race for Indian telecoms company Hutchison Essar, confirming they have secured financial backing for their imminent $17bn (€13.1bn) bid.

The Hinduja Group, the Indian conglomerate owned by the two brothers, has a 25-strong team preparing for due dilligence of Hutchison Essar at the start of next week, and will bid against the UK telecoms company Vodafone.