India’s Bharti Airtel has received bids from more than a dozen foreign banks to fund its proposed stake buy in MTN, a media report said on Tuesday.
Shares in Bharti Airtel fell as much as 4,8% on Monday on worries the company will sweeten its offer to buy a stake in MTN.
Bharti Airtel and MTN Group extended their exclusive talks aimed at merging their operations to create the world’s third-largest mobile operator.
The countdown is on in merger talks between India’s top mobile firm Bharti Airtel and MTN to create an emerging market powerhouse.
Bharti Airtel and MTN are expected to extend talks by two to three weeks for a proposed merger, sources familiar with the deal said on Friday.
MTN is in talks with a group of lenders to secure a ,5-billion syndicated loan to back its proposed merger with India’s Bharti Airtel.
State Bank of India has offered a loan of up to -billion to Bharti Airtel to partly fund the Indian telecoms firm’s planned stake buy in MTN.
Shares in India’s Bharti Airtel flip-flopped on Wednesday morning, after falling more than 10% in the previous two sessions.
India’s Bharti Airtel, which has restarted merger talks with MTN Group, said on Tuesday it does not expect funding requirements to be onerous.
MTN and India’s Bharti Airtel have revived merger talks to create a -billion telecoms giant spanning Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Anil Ambani, the billionaire chairperson of India’s Reliance Communications, may link up with private equity groups in a bid to gain a powerful foothold in sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator MTN, the Financial Times said on Wednesday.
South African cellular giant MTN could pick up to a 74% stake in India’s Reliance Communications in a share-swap deal being discussed between the companies, an official said on Friday. "The stock swap is an option being considered at the moment," a Reliance official said on condition of anonymity.
India’s Reliance Communications is prepared to pay a significant premium for control of South African mobile phone group MTN, the FT Alphaville website said on Thursday. MTN and Reliance said on Monday they were in exclusive talks after India’s biggest mobile phone operator Bharti Airtel broke off talks.
Reliance Communications, India’s number two mobile operator, has entered into exclusive negotiations for a tie-up with the MTN Group, knocking its shares down 4%. Reliance was quick to fill a void left after its bigger domestic rival, Bharti Airtel, pulled out of talks at the weekend aimed at taking control of MTN.
India’s top cellular company, Bharti Airtel, on Saturday called off merger talks with MTN, branding the ownership structure proposed by the flagship South African mobile firm ”completely unacceptable”. The merger would have created the world’s sixth-largest mobile company with a network of 130-million subscribers.
South African stocks continued to run in record territory at midday on Monday, buoyed by miners on firmer metal prices while an upbeat mood in overseas markets added to the bullish tone. The market touched 33 116,051 during the session, an all-time high.
Merger talks between India’s biggest cellphone services firm, Bharti Airtel, and South Africa’s flagship MTN Group could wind up this weekend, a report said on Saturday. A merged group would create the world’s sixth-largest mobile company with a network of 130-million subscribers.
Bharti Airtel, India’s leading mobile operator, may seek a merger or share swap with MTN Group to try to avoid a bidding war for the South African phone firm, analysts and media reports say. A successful deal would be India’s biggest foreign acquisition and create the world’s sixth-largest mobile operator.
South African stocks were sharply higher at noon on Monday, led by miners on stronger metal prices, while easing United States economic concerns added to the upbeat mood. Local cellphone firm MTN Group was in focus again on ongoing speculation that an Indian firm might launch a takeover bid for the company, traders said.
South African mobile services operator MTN said on Friday that it had not received any "specific proposal" from any company regarding a takeover of the company. MTN was responding to a report that India’s Bharti Airtel is considering a bid for the company.