Bharti Infra stocks get jitters on a possible Vodafone-Idea merger

Shares of Bharti Infratel on Monday fell sharply by 7% on bourses after Vodafone confirmed it was in discussions with Idea Cellular for a possible merger. 

On the BSE, the stock plummeted 7.07% and finally settled at Rs 328.8 by the end of the day.

According to a Mumbai-based analyst, the impact of Vodafone-Idea merger on Bharti Infratel would only be in the near term as the telecom tower company will have to re-synchronise its existing network.

Global telecom major Vodafone on Monday confirmed it was in discussion to merge its India mobile business with Aditya Birla group’s Idea Cellular, a move that would create the largest telecom entity to take on rivals such as Airtel and Reliance Jio.

The discussions for the all-share merger of Vodafone India exclude its 42% stake in Indus Towers, the company said.

Vodafone did not share the details of the potential deal.

While Bharti Airtel is the largest telecom operator in India with 265.85 million mobile subscribers, Vodafone has 204.69 million users and 

Idea Cellular 190.51 million, according to latest data by the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI).