Bharti Airtel, Tata Group call off discussions for merger of DTH business

Bharti Airtel and Tata Group have terminated discussions for a merger of their direct-to-home (DTH) business, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing on Saturday.

In the BSE filing, Airtel said this was because the two sides were not able to find a satisfactory resolution.

"This is in reference to our intimation dated February 26, 2025, wherein the company informed that it is in bilateral discussions with TATA Group to explore a potential combination of TATA Group's Direct To Home ('DTH') business housed under Tata Play Limited with Bharti Telemedia Limited, a subsidiary of the company," it said. 

"In this regard, we wish to inform you that after not being able to find a satisfactory resolution, the parties have mutually decided to terminate the discussions," Airtel added.

On February 26, Sunil Mittal-led telecom services provider Bharti Airtel had said it was in talks with Tata Group for a merger of its loss-making direct-to-home (DTH) business.

Airtel was holding discussions with the salt-to-software conglomerate for a merger of Bharti Telemedia, which offers cable and satellite television services, with Tata Play, the regulatory filing earlier this year said. 

"We wish to submit that Bharti Airtel and Tata Group are in bilateral discussions to explore a potential transaction to achieve a combination of Tata Group's DTH business housed under Tata Play Ltd, with Bharti Telemedia, a subsidiary of Airtel, in a structure acceptable to all parties," it had then stated.

The specific details were not shared at that point. If completed, this would have been the second merger in the DTH sector after the Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger in 2016.