Once the deal is through, Bharti Airtel would be the seventh largest telecom company in the world, with a subscriber base of 171 million.
A new dimension will be added to the India's growth story by Bharti Airtel's acquisition of Kuwait's Zain Telecom, besides enhancing the country's brand equity
Bharti Airtel on Tuesday inked a definitive agreement with Kuwait's telecom firm, Zain, to acquire its African assets at an enterprise value of $10.7 billion
An Indian firm Vavasi Telecom is trying to rope in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited to pick up a stake in Zain.
The company is looking at prepaying a part of the debt. It would be in the range of $800-900 million, Bharti Group chief financial officer Manik Jhangiani said.
The Indian telecom giant has offered to buy all of the company's African operations except in Sudan and Morocco for $10.7 billion.
Kuwait-based mobile operator Zain Group has announced comprehensive and new appointments to meet new challenges.
Zain Telecom on Wednesday said it would earn $3.3 billion from sale of its African assets to Bharti Airtel for $10.7 billion even as the Indian operator said the deal is well-priced.
Essar group, which is buying out the Uganda and Congo assets of Warid Telecom -- a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi Group and Singtel and is present in Kenya, has also reportedly been sounded out by Zain shareholders. A company spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the issue.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel chief Sunil Mittal has thanked partner SingTel for standing by it in the $10.7-billion takeover of Kuwaiti telecom giant Zain's African business.
It also had other suitors like French company Vivendi, Egyptian company Etisalat and even MTN.
Bharti Airtel will spend up to $800 million (about Rs 3,565 crore) this fiscal on setting up infrastructure network for its new acquisition Zain Africa.
Bharti Airtel said it might look at diluting some of its equity either at Bharti Airtel or at its tower subsidiary as one of the options to fund the $10.7-billion acquisition of African assets of Zain Telecom.
During the exclusive agreement, Bharti would assess the financial parameters and other related issues, including regulatory norms that are needed to be in place for the deal that could make Bharti among the top 10 operators globally.
Telecom giant Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said it would pay about $9 billion (nearly Rs 42,000 crore) to buy African assets of Kuwait-based Zain, announcement of which pulled down Indian firm's share prices by 13 per cent in two days.
The loans in rupees would cover any associated transaction costs. Standard Chartered Bank, State Bank of India and Barclays are the major contributors to this debt portfolio.
Corporate India's merger and acquisition deal activity in February stood at $2.3 billion taking the total M
A consortium comprising India's telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL, among others, on Monday said it has started negotiations for acquiring control of Kuwait's biggest phone company Zain Telecom that has presence in 24 countries.
The company faces $3-bn payout to Econet Wireless.
With competitive pressures increasing at home, Bharti is making a third attempt to gain a foothold in the African market.
In what could give jitters to players like Nokia, Samsung and other such stables, Bharti on Sunday announced its entry into the fast-growing mobile handset business.
Bharti will have to deal with 15 different regulatory regimes in Africa as opposed to just one in India.
The deal enables Bharti Airtel to extend its services in 15 countries across the African continent.
We will introduce the Airtel brand in Africa in all the markets
The idea is to reduce capital investments and improve profitability.
India's largest cellular service company Bharti Airtel will invest $600 million in Nigeria's mobile market following its take over of Zain Telecom's African business for around SUD 10.7 billion.
ontinuing its acquisition spree in the international market, Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said the company will acquire 100 per cent stake in Telecom Seychelles for $62 million (about Rs 288 crore).
Has already invested $13 bn and needs another $9 bn to expand business, even as cash demands rise at home
The company had already sought bids to set up towers in countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania, said sources. Bharti is giving these orders market wise, instead of one bulk order.
Commenting on the deal, revenue secretary Sunil Mitra said, "I am proud India is going out and doing great things in the world sphere. I am proud as an Indian."
Bharti's results included its new African operations that it acquired in June from Kuwaiti telecom group Zain.
Bharti'suarterly revenue run rate continues to be hover around the $1.2 billion mar
But, unlike its competitors, it did not have a comprehensive infrastructure back-end and required fresh investments.
Liability goes up by Rs 1,000 cr for every Rs 1 change in $ exchange rate
Bharti Airtel is counting on its "endearing" brand to build on its acquisition of Zain Telecom's African operations. In addition, it aims to do what Indian companies are getting increasingly known for: Reduce costs.
Bharti Airtel, which acquired the African operations of Zain Telecommunications last year, had a net debt of $13.4 billion at the end of the first quarter of the current financial year.
Leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it has earmarked a capital expenditure of $3.1 billion (over Rs 14,000 crore) for India and other global operations in the current fiscal.
Not too much is known about the middle-aged Arifuddin who is Vavasi's major shareholder, except for the fact that he is a civil engineer from Karnataka and started the group around a decade ago.
As global economies contract because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the focus of most of the India Inc has now moved back to the home market where demand is expected to pick substantially from the coming festival season.
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