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.
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.