Bharti sweetend MTN deal
“Bharti Airtel is making a slew of last-minute concessions to sew up a deal with MTN as it awaits a political push to take the planned tie-up past the hurdle of national pride in South Africa,” the Economic Times newspaper said.
Bharti has also offered MTN minority shareholders 13 billion dollars cash, rather than a combination of cash and shares, to acquire their 36 percent stake in the South African firm, the paper said, quoting a source close the deal.
A merger between the two would create the world’s third-largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, which would straddle Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
According to the report, Bharti is also proposing that MTN’s top management retain their positions for the next three years and that it would cap its stake in MTN at 49 percent for at least five years.
The latest deal would increase the MTN stake in the merged entity to 27 percent instead of the 25 percent offered in May.
A final agreement could be blocked by the issue of whether India would allow the merged company to be listed on both the Indian and South African stock exchanges.
The South African government is concerned about a major national company being taken over by a foreign competitor and reports have said it wants the merged company to be listed in Johannesburg as well as Mumbai.
A dual listed company (DLC) involves two listed firms that have different sets of shareholders but share ownership of a single business operation. South Africa allows dual listing, while India does not.
Allowing DLCs in India would involve substantial changes in foreign exchange and stock market laws and would require full cabinet approval, Bharti Airtel and MTN are in exclusive talks on a merger that will end on September 30 unless extended.
The 15-year-old MTN is South Africa’s largest telecoms company with 103 million subscribers in 21 countries while Bharti Airtel is a telecom services provider operating in India and Sri Lanka.
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