No proposal with Govt on Bharti-MTN, cos may extend talks

Bharti Airtel and MTN of South Africa are likely to extend the exclusive talks period beyond September 30 in the absence of clarity on the proposed $23- billion deal between the two companies.

The period for exclusive talks between Bharti and MTN is ending tomorrow. There is no confirmation from Bharti or MTN on whether the talks would be extended or not.

The government also said it has not received any proposal from either Bharti or MTN.

"Our officials had some discussions with the South African authorities. They have explained our legal position (on dual listing) and asked them what is that they need," Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters.

Asked about if there is any proposal on dual listing, Chawla said, "There is no formal proposal before any public authority in India as of today."

 South Africa government officials said they were yet to get a briefing from the team, which met Indian authorities including officials from SEBI, RBI and Finance Ministry, last week.

"Our team arrived back from India on Saturday night. They will be briefing the minister today," Thoraya Pandy, head of media and communications, National Treasury, told PTI through an e-mail.

A query on whether the companies are reworking the structure of the deal to avoid legal and regulatory hurdles in both the countries, remained unanswered.

The proposed deal, which has seen two deadlines expire, hinges on a lot of ifs and buts and will be subject to the South African government approval and will require sanction from 75 per cent of shareholders present and voting in both companies.

If that happens, Bharti-MTN will have over 200 million subscribers, making it the third largest mobile company in the world after Vodafone and China Mobile.

Under the announced scheme of arrangement, Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti Airtel is to acquire a 49 per cent economic interest in MTN. In return, MTN will acquire a 25 per cent economic interest in Bharti Airtel for 2.9 billion dollar and MTN shareholders will acquire another 11 per cent.