Bharti Airtel is all set to face competition in its proposed bid for South African telecom major MTN Group. United Arab Emirates-based telecom company Etisalat today said that it might bid for the South African company, too. Etisalat is evaluating a possible bid for MTN as it seeks to boost revenues from the continent to at least a quarter of its total revenues in four years, Reuters reported quoting the company Chairman Mohammed Omran.
The race for South African telecom major MTN Group is hotting up with the possibility of two other players evaluating a bid or a strategic relationship with the company. Banking sources say European telecom major Deutsche Telekom and Russian telco Vimpel Communications are also studying the possibility of talking to the MTN Group.
South African major to make open offer to RCom shareholders. The deal would create a telecom colossus with 115 million subscribers in 25 countries.
Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal MTN group president and CEO Phuthuma Nhlek had met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday. The two telecom majors extended the deadline for exclusive talks for their proposed $23-billion deal to the end of next month recently.
Bharti Airtel Ltd on Thursday said it is still in talks with South Africa's MTN over a deal which could see a merger of the two telecom giants with a combined revenue of $20 billion. The two companies would be in exclusive talks till July 31.
The MTN-Reliance Communications merger, if it gets through, will create a telecom behemoth of 115 million subscribers in 25 countries.
Anil Ambani has won Lebanon-based M1 Chief Executive Officer Azmi Mikati's approval for a possible merger of Reliance Communications and South Africa's MTN Group following a meeting between the two.
Datacom Solutions, promoted by consumer electronic goods maker Videocon Industries, is close to roping in South African telecom major MTN group as a partner for its GSM foray in the country. According to sources, Datacom, which was scouting for a partner to bring in investments and technology, has short-listed MTN. Discussions with the South African company are in the final stage and a deal is expected to be signed soon.
Bharti Airtel Ltd on Thursday said it is still in talks with South Africa's MTN over a deal which could see a merger of the two telecom giants with a combined revenue of $20 billion.
A high-profile team from MTN is also expected to meet Reliance Industries Ltd next week to take stock of the situation. RCom had informed the bourses on May 26 that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with MTN for 45 days soon after the South African giant aborted its talks with the Sunil Mittal-controlled Bharti group. The deadline will end on July 8.
Bharti Telecom, the unlisted holding company of Bharti Airtel, may issue fresh equity to the MTN group to give it the 25 per cent economic interest in India's largest mobile service provider.
Move to skirt public offer for S African telco.
Meet the CEOs for South Africa's MTN and India's Bharti Airtel. They're the men behind what would be India Inc's largest-ever overseas transaction, at $23 billion.
Bharti's talks with South African mobile operator MTN Group Ltd are now centered on a full takeover by the Indian operator for a combination of cash and stock, The Wall Street Journal said quoting a person familiar with the situation. The person said Bharti was considering paying as much as $20 billion in cash, said the paper. Bharti said on Tuesday it was in talks with MTN to 'combine the strengths of the two leading players from emerging markets.
The MTN Group, the largest mobile operator in sub-Saharan Africa, might seek a 'non-compete agreement' with Bharti Airtel, India's largest private telecom company, to bar it from entering the 21-odd markets in which the Johannesburg-listed company operates, banking sources said.
India's largest private telecom company Bharti Airtel is believed to have held discussions to rope in Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, which directly and indirectly holds 30.5 per cent in the company, to bid for South African telecom major MTN Group.
The two also met corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid, who asked them to keep his ministry in the loop.
Banking sources said with the MTN shareholders asking for a higher price than what Bharti had initially offered, the Indian telecom company might now pay 50 per cent of the money in cash and the rest through shares in Bharti Airtel. The sources added that MTN is also believed not to favour signing an 'exclusivity' contract with Bharti Airtel under which it would be bound not to talk to any other competing bidder till the negotiations with them have been concluded.
Loop Telecom has been looking for a strategic investor for some time now and people close to the development said the telecom operator was willing to sell up to 45 per cent stake in the firm.
Nisbet would be succeeded by Nazir Patel effective from October 1. Nisbet has been part of the telecom company for 14 years.
Indian firms, including Tata Steel, in the past have formed SPVs to acquire foreign companies to protect local operations and also to avoid legal hindrances. The SPV may be registered in a tax-haven country, like Mauritius or Bahamas, the sources said. The move to float an SPV will help Bharti Airtel to continue being listed on Indian stock exchanges, while MTN's promoters will be given a stake in the SPV.
An Indian consumer pressure group has warned that a proposed deal between Bharti, the country's largest mobile operator, and South Africa's MTN could breach the country's foreign ownership rules.
The much-touted deal between Anil Ambani group company RCOM and South African telecom giant MTN was called off on Friday. "The two sides were unable to conclude the transaction due to certain regulatory issues," RCOM spokesperson said in statement on Friday night.
Bharti Airtel, India 's leading mobile operator, said it could "move pretty quickly" if the board of MTN, the South Africa-based telecoms group, puts itself up for sale on Monday.
Like Bharti, India 's largest mobile operator, Reliance has global aspirations. After losing last year's keenly-contested $11bn takeover of Hutchison Essar, India 's fourth-largest mobile operator, to Vodafone of the UK, Reliance needs to raise its game or risk becoming an also-ran.
The battle between the Ambani brothers flared up again today -- this time over the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's (ADAG's) bid to seal a merger deal with South African telecom company, MTN.
This effectively means MTN will not talk to other potential bidders while discussions are on with the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company. MTN had not agreed to a similar exclusivity agreement with Bharti Airtel, with which talks broke down following differences over control of the combined entity.
A possible merger of Reliance Communications of India and South Africa's MTN could see Anil Ambani become the enlarged group's chairman and biggest shareholder with a stake of almost 35 per cent.
Contrary to reports that world's largest mobile phone company Vodafone is planning to bid for South Africa's MTN, the UK-based firm has said it is not in the race to acquire the African mobile major. "Vodafone has ruled itself out of the running to acquire South African mobile phone group MTN, paving the way for Bharti Airtel of India to take a majority stake in the company."
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal's bid for telecom major MTN Group has to contend with some tough negotiations with Lebanon's former prime minister Najib Mikati, one of the wealthiest men in his country, as well as stiff black economic empowerment policies in South Africa that provide for a major share in the management of companies located in the country to blacks.
While the M1 Group, which holds 9.8 per cent in MTN, today backed Bharti's bid, Singapore Telecommunications said it has no objection to the acquisition.
RCom, which, sources say had offered to pick up a 51 per cent stake in MTN through a complicated share-swap deal through which shareholders of the African company would pick up stake in RCom, had asked for an extension of the exclusivity talks for another three to four weeks.
Ambani siblings' war intensified on Saturday with the younger Anil's group warning to retaliate in case Mukesh-led Reliance Industries goes legal with its claim on the potential multi-billion dollar amalgamation deal that the former is pursuing with South African telecom giant MTN.
Bharti Airtel, India's leading private telecom service provider, is keen to acquire a player similar in size to South African giant MTN in the emerging markets to become a global brand, said Akhil Gupta, deputy group CEO and managing director of Bharti Enterprises.
Bharti Airtel, India's leading private telecom service provider, is keen to acquire a player similar in size to South African giant MTN in the emerging markets to become a global brand, said Akhil Gupta, deputy group CEO and managing director of Bharti Enterprises.
But what is dual listing all about? Why is India hesitant to adopt it? And what should be done? How does this issue stand between the Bharti and MTN deal? Let's find out.
Anil Ambani group company Reliance Communications on Monday announced entering into an exclusive negotiations with South Africa's telecom giant MTN to discuss potential combination of their businesses.
As the American Presidential elections entered its most heated phase, a senior White House adviser, who managed Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, was found to have accepted a USD 100,000 speaking fee in 2010 from an affiliate of a company doing business with Iran.
In what could be a prelude to Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group claiming damages against Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries for allegedly derailing the merger talks with South Africa's MTN group
Indian telecom companies are scouting for acquisitions worldwide as part of an ambitious attempt to establish a global footprint. Moreover, the growth momentum needs to be maintained amid the falling average revenue per user (ARPUs) and expected saturation in the domestic subscriber base.
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