Airtel gets Sebi and stock exchanges' nod for merger with Telenor

Airtel to take over Telenor's spectrum, licences and operations and customer base of 44 mn

Bharti Airtel today said it has received approvals from market regulator Sebi and stock exchanges (BSE and NSE) for the proposed merger with Telenor India.

The Sunil Bharti Mittal-owned company in February had announced to acquire the business of Telenor India for an undisclosed sum in all seven circles where the latter holds spectrum.

As part of the deal, Airtel would take over Telenor India's spectrum, licences and operations, including its employees and customer base of 44 million.

In a stock exchange filing, Airtel said, "It has received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), BSE Limited (BSE) and National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) for the proposed scheme of merger between Airtel and Telenor (India) Communications Private Limited."

The company further stated that Telenor India and Airtel have today filed the joint company application before the New Delhi Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal for approval of the proposed scheme of merger. The merger is inter alia subject to other statutory approvals including from the Competition Commission of India.

As part of the merger, Airtel will acquire Telenor India's running operations in seven circles - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam. Airtel said these circles represent a high population concentration and therefore offer a high potential for growth.

"The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India's assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel's overall customer base and network. It will also enable Airtel to further bolster its strong spectrum footprint in these seven circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band," the company said.