Bharti Group and South Africa’s MTN Group are likely to extend the time period for discussing a possible merger. The two companies had earlier entered into an exclusive agreement to discuss synergies till July 31.
Meanwhile, the Corporate Affairs Minister, Mr Salman Khurshid, told the Lok Sabha on Thursday, in a written reply: “The deal has not yet been finalised. As and when change, if any, in the equity shareholding of the company is proposed, the applicant has to approach the Government for necessary approval, which will be examined according to the relevant policy guidelines on the subject.”
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has also received Bharti Airtel’s application on its likely partnership with South Africa’s MTN.
Bharti Airtel and the MTN Group restarted merger talks to create a $20-billion emerging markets telecom entity, a year after previous talks broke down over who would control a merged entity.
Bharti said the potential value of the deal in which both firms pay cash and stock for stakes in each other, was more than $23 billion.
If the merger goes through it will create a company with 200 million subscribers across 24 countries in Asia, Africa and West Asia.
Source: The Hindu Businessline