telecommunications — english language news service
15.05.2008« [telecommunications — телекоммуникация — telekommunikation]
india — bharti airtel discusses merger with mtn
Bharti Airtel is reported to be deep in talks with South African mobile group MTN Group over what has been described as a ‘merger of equals’. ‘Bharti still wants majority control, but MTN prefers a full takeover which in South Africa can be portrayed as a merger of equals. Talks this week are focused on a full takeover’ an unnamed person close to Bharti was quoted in the local press as saying. The same source said Bharti was considering paying as much as USD20 billion in cash and the rest through a share swap. MTN's current market value is estimated at around USD36 billion.
Source: TeleGeography's CommsUpdate
bharti airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is an Indian telecom services provider. The Company has three business units: Mobile Services, Broadband & Telephone Services (B&TS) and Enterprise Services. The Mobile Services business unit offers mobile services in all 23 telecom circles of India. The B&TS business unit provides broadband and telephone services in 94 cities across India. The Enterprise Services business unit has two sub-units: Carriers (long-distance services) and Corporates. Through Enterprise Services-Carriers, Bharti Airtel provides national and international long-distance services. The Enterprise Services-Corporates business unit provides integrated voice and data communications solutions to corporate customers and small and medium-size enterprises. In April 2007, the Company acquired a 49% stake in Bharti Aquanet Ltd from Singtel i2i Ltd. On September 28, 2007, the Company completed the acquisition of Network i2i Ltd.
mtn group
MTN Group Limited (MTN Group) is a provider of communication services, offering cellular network access and business solutions. The Company operates in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. During the year ended December 31, 2006, it recorded more than 40 million subscribers across its operations. MTN Groups operating regions in South and East Africa includes MTN South Africa, MTN Swaziland, MTN Zambia, MTN Uganda, MTN Rwanda and Mascom Botswana. Its operating regions in West and Central Africa includes MTN Nigeria, MTN Cameroon, MTN Congo-Brazzaville, MTN Cote dIvoire, MTN Benin, MTN Ghana, MTN Guinea Bissau, MTN Guinea and MTN Liberia. The Companys operating regions in Middle East and North Africa MTN Irancell and MTN Afghanistan, MTN Cyprus, MTN Sudan, MTN Syria, MTN Yemen and Mednet. MTN Group holds 49% of MTN Irancell with the balance held by the Iran Electronic Development Company. This Greenfield operation was launched on October 21, 2006.
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