India’s telecom czar Sunil Mittal’s dreams of forging a transnational alliance with Africa’s largest telco MTN were shattered for the second time in
Bharti-MTN sagaIndia's leading Telecom companiesless than two years with Bharti Airtel and the South African company calling off talks a few hours before the expiry of the September 30 deadline after the South African government refused to soften its stance on the proposed deal structure. “Bharti and MTN have decided to disengage from their discussions when the exclusivity period ends on September 30, 2009. This (deal) structure needed an approval from the government of South Africa, which has expressed its inability to accept it in the current form. In view of this, both companies have taken a decision to disengage from discussion,” Bharti Airtel said in a statement on Wednesday evening. ET NOW, this paper’s television channel, was the first to break the story at 7.25 pm, even ahead of the official statement from Bharti. The statement was issued in India even as the top management team of Bharti — chairman Sunil Mittal along with top executives Manoj Kohli and Akhil Gupta — was at an offsite in Thailand. The deal fell through, say sources, after two crucial meetings in South Africa on Wednesday — in one of these, the key representatives of the government expressed reservations about the deal and refused to budge from its earlier stance on dual listing of companies or DLC. Thereafter, the MTN board met and formally called off the deal.
Bharti-MTN sagaIndia's leading Telecom companiesless than two years with Bharti Airtel and the South African company calling off talks a few hours before the expiry of the September 30 deadline after the South African government refused to soften its stance on the proposed deal structure. “Bharti and MTN have decided to disengage from their discussions when the exclusivity period ends on September 30, 2009. This (deal) structure needed an approval from the government of South Africa, which has expressed its inability to accept it in the current form. In view of this, both companies have taken a decision to disengage from discussion,” Bharti Airtel said in a statement on Wednesday evening. ET NOW, this paper’s television channel, was the first to break the story at 7.25 pm, even ahead of the official statement from Bharti. The statement was issued in India even as the top management team of Bharti — chairman Sunil Mittal along with top executives Manoj Kohli and Akhil Gupta — was at an offsite in Thailand. The deal fell through, say sources, after two crucial meetings in South Africa on Wednesday — in one of these, the key representatives of the government expressed reservations about the deal and refused to budge from its earlier stance on dual listing of companies or DLC. Thereafter, the MTN board met and formally called off the deal.
POSTED BY: PALLAVI SINGH
PGDM III SEM
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