The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Bharti Airtel’s acquisition of an additional 20 per cent stake in its direct-to- home (DTH) arm Bharti Telemedia Limited (BTL) from the affiliate of Warburg Pincus.
In October 2023, Airtel requested approval from the CCI for the transaction. This transaction also included Lion Meadow Investment, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, acquiring a stake in Airtel. Recently, the CCI has granted approval for the transaction.
In its application to the CCI, Airtel said the transaction is an intra group shareholding consolidation and does not constitute any change in market dynamics, the entry or exit of any player, or a change in the management of the business operations of BTL. The application identified India’s upstream market for digital set-top box manufacturing and sale and the downstream market for aggregating and distributing TV channels through DTH services as relevant markets for the CCI’s review.
The stake acquisition, which will increase Bharti Airtel’s shareholding in Bharti Telemedia to 100 per cent from 80 per cent, has valued the BTL at Rs 156.3 billion.
According to the sources, CCI is expected to publish a detailed public order on the transaction soon.
