No one is blinking first, but for some war of words. Mukesh Ambani is clear in his intentions: Asserting a right of first refusal over his brother's 66 percent stake in R-Com even though he showed no prior interest in making a bid. RIL says its case is based on an agreement framed in early 2006 when R-Com was being carved out of Reliance Industries.

R-Com disputes the validity of the agreement, saying it was never ratified, and has even threatened criminal proceedings against some RIL officials who were the purported signatories to the agreement.

Market analysts, familiar with the bitter rivalry between the two, are worried about the outcome of the deal, as also the legal fallout of the shadow boxing since it will have implications on all listed entities under the two brothers.

Many also wonder why the fight, again dragged into full public view, couldn't be contained within the confines of their shared Sea Wind home (both live on separate floors and have no daily contact) in Mumbai's plush Cuff Parade neighbourhood.

"There is a feeling that he (Mukesh) would rather sink the deal than get involved. If you (Anil) are fourth or fifth in the world in terms of wealth, and you are upstaging your bigger brother, it is not going to go down well," a top stock market analyst told the Johannesburg-based Business Day.

Little wonder, hectic parleying has started across Mumbai, London and Johannesburg as the brothers try to secure support in their favour. A fortnight after encouraging his confidants to gun for his brother from a game reserve in Botswana while holidayed with his family, the senior Ambani pushed his men to lobby for both moral and political support in the Indian capital.

One of his aides even briefed a top official of the Indian Prime Minister's Office over lunch in central London.

There is more to the spat. The elder Ambani, by casting doubt on his brother's unfettered right to dispose of his stake in R-Com, hopes to gain leverage in other commercial disputes, including one involving a contested gas supply contract, analysts say.

Mukesh is also aware that the proposed merger could seal the fate of the non-competition agreement between the two signed in 2006 and submitted to all statutory authorities including Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Registrar of Companies (ROC).

That the brothers have openly violated the agreement is, however, another story.

Anil Ambani acquired gas basins under the government's New Exploration Licensing Policy, which allows private sector companies to prospect for hydrocarbons. This, thereby, made him enter a domain where his brother has dominant interest, while Mukesh's telecom and entertainment ambitions, too, are well documented.