In what could see fresh round of consolidation in Indian telecom, India’s largest Telco Bharti Airtel is evaluating buying Telenor’s India business. Sources say, the transaction- which will see the Norwegian telecom company exit one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world- could close by end of January.
As per current discussions, Bharti Airtel has valued the business at $350 million, which is half of Telenor India’s liabilities. The deal structure currently being discussed would entail Bharti Airtel taking over half of Telenor’s $700 million for upcoming spectrum payouts and payments for tower deals. No cash payout is likely in the deal.
The deal, if it goes through, will see Bharti Airtel further strengthening its spectrum portfolio since Telenor has over 5 MHz of liberalized spectrum in all 6 circles that it operates in. Telenor’s India operations have also turned EBITDA positive in most circles that it operates in. The company has over 53 million subscribers and has launched 4G service in 40 cities across 6 circles.
The deal will also mark the beginning of a fresh round of M&A activity in the sector, which is expected to witness pressure on margins and decline in tariffs due to the launch of Mukesh Ambani owned Rel Jio.
By Baishakhi Dutta
