Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is close to clinching a deal to acquire 70 per cent stake in Warid Telecom, a local mobile company in Bangladesh owned by Abu Dhabi Group, with top officials from both companies meeting here to "brainstorm a consensus", a media report said today.

"A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) could be signed between the companies during the visit," an official at Warid Telecom was quoted as saying by the Daily Star.

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The nod of BTRC has been sought by Bharti Airtel in a letter to buy the stake in Bangladesh operations of Warid Telecom.

The MoU is the primary step before signing the final deal between the companies to share confidential business strategies.

According to the newspaper, the regulatory authority has asked for some documents, including Airtel's investment plan in Bangladesh and board of director's approval from both the companies regarding the deal.

"The BTRC has asked the companies to submit these documents before signing the deal," BTRC Chairman Zia Ahmed said, the paper reported.

Bharti Enterprises Chairman and Group CEO Sunil Bharti Mittal met Bangladesh Telecom Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju yesterday.

Airtel is going to invest in Bangladesh, Sunil Kanti Bosh, secretary of telecommunication ministry, said adding that the company also looks for providing telecom services between India and Bangladesh at affordable cost.

Warid made its Bangladesh debut as the sixth mobile operator in May 2007 and has roped in 2.79 million subscribers until October.

Several companies like SingTel, Vodafone and Etisalat had also approached Warid to form a partnership in Bangladesh, the Daily Star said.

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