Bharti sells Beetel's majority stake to Brightstar

Bharti Enterprises sold its majority stake in Beetel Teletech Limited to Brightstar Corp. to bring latest mobile technologies and services to the Indian market, a company statement said here Tuesday.

A Brightstar subsidiary has acquired a majority stake in Beetel Teletech Limited, which is a part of the Bharti Enterprises. Beetel manufactures fixed line telephones for Airtel, BSNL or MTNL as well as the retail market and exports to more than 30 countries across five continents.

Bharti declined to disclose the stake percentage and value.

Brightstar, a wireless products and services distributor, will bring the latest mobile devices and accessories from top manufacturers for distribution in India through Beetel's established distribution network platform.

The products will be branded as Beetel, confirmed Bharti. All the existing employees of Beetel will continue operating from its headquarters in Gurgaon.

"The Indian mobile market is entering the next phase of growth, which will be driven by data services on 3G and 4G technologies. The smartphone market in the country recorded triple-digit growth in 2013 and offers a huge opportunity going forward," said Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice chairman, Bharti Enterprises.

"The new mobile businesses and related technologies that Brightstar is bringing to Beetel will help drive significant growth by leveraging our deep distribution strength," he added.

"India represents a tremendous growth opportunity for both devices and attached services as consumers continue to upgrade from feature to smartphones in record numbers," said Marcelo Claure, founder and chief executive officer of Brightstar Corp.

"Beetel is a recognized leader in technology distribution in India, and we look forward to enhancing the company's strong position to bring the latest mobile technologies and services to the marketplace," he said.