Airtel's Sunil Mittal in talks to buy 49% stake in Haier India for $2 bn

Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal has partnered with private equity firm Warburg Pincus to acquire the stake Haier India, and a deal could be signed in a few weeks, Bloomberg reported

Bharti Airtel founder Sunil Mittal is in advanced talks to acquire a 49 per cent stake worth around $2 billion in the Indian unit of China’s Haier Smart Home Co., Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

 

Mittal has partnered with private equity firm Warburg Pincus to acquire the stake, and a deal could be signed in a few weeks, the report said.

 

However, as deliberations go on, there is a chance that Haier may decide not to sell, while other buyers could also still emerge, the report added.

 

Last month, The Economic Times reported that Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is also a key contender for acquiring the stake. Meanwhile, global private equity firm TPG Capital and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC also teamed up with Dabur’s Burman family, the Goenka family, respectively, to acquire the stake, Moneycontrol reported last month.

 

 

 

Haier eyes continued India surge

Haier, which sells refrigerators, air-conditioners, washing machines and televisions in India, reported a 36 per cent growth in revenue at around ₹8,900 crore in 2024. It ranks third in India after LG and Samsung in the household appliance market, reported The Economic Times. Moreover, the company expects revenue to cross ₹11,500 crore in 2025, NS Satish, president of Haier Appliances India, told PTI.

 

“And subsequent to that, every year, we are looking around ₹2,000 crore to ₹2,500 crore plus. So we have big plans. And we see a big opportunity in India. When you see the economy GDP, which is doing very well, next is the penetration of the product, which is very low when we compare it to our global counterparts,” he said.

 

 

Investment for expansion

The home appliances manufacturer has allocated over ₹1,000 crore for investments between 2024 and 2028 to establish new air conditioner production and injection moulding units. To date, it has already invested ₹2,400 crore in its facilities located in Pune and Greater Noida.

 

“Currently we have a capacity of 1.5 million. However, the way the AC market is growing here, by 2027 we will have a shortage in capacity. The new plant will be 2.5 million units,” Satish said.