Bharti Airtel Dialing Up a New Move — Is Tata Play the Next Call?

Bharti Airtel has confirmed talks with the Tata Group to merge Tata Play's direct-to-home (DTH) business with the Bharti Telemedia unit of Airtel. The transaction, in the form of a share exchange, is to enhance Airtel's non-mobile revenues by offering bundled telecom, broadband, and DTH services. If the deal happens, Airtel would have a majority 52-55% stake in the merged entity, with 45-48% remaining with Tata Play shareholders such as Walt Disney. The deal would bring Airtel Tata Play's 19 million subscriber homes and boost its strength in the DTH space. Both companies are presently valued at about Rs 6,000-7,000 crore each. This step has been taken with the DTH sector struggling to counter consumers moving to digital means for watching video content and live streaming. The transaction, as of now on the discussion phase, may have the potential to form the largest player in paid DTH space in India.

 

Source: Economic Times, Storyboard18, Exchange4Media, Financial Express