Bharti Airtel and South Africa’s largest telecom company, the MTN Group, have revived merger talks. According to the proposed plan, the $23 billion merger deal will see Bharti Airtel paying in cash and shares for a 49 per cent stake in MTN, while MTN will pay cash and stock to acquire approximately 36 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel.
While MTN will acquire 25 per cent in Airtel for approximately $2.9 billion in cash and newly issued shares of MTN, the remainder will be held directly by MTN shareholders. Airtel will acquire 49 per cent stake in MTN by paying ZAR86.00 per share in cash as well as 0.5 newly issued Airtel shares in the form of global depository receipts. Meanwhile, SingTel, the major existing shareholder of Airtel, will continue to be a strategic partner after the implementation of the proposed deal.
