Bharti and other global telcos may enter the tussle for MTN
Reliance Communications (RCOM) and South Africa’s MTN announced that merger talks between the two telcos have ended. RCOM has become the second Indian telco in as many months to fail in pulling off a merger with MTN.
Bharti Airtel and MTN were close to a merger in May but the Indian telco called off the talks after the two companies failed to agree on the corporate structure of the combined entity.
The failure of RCOM and MTN to clinch a deal may present a second chance to Bharti Airtel to re-engage with the South African telco. As reported earlier, MTN is learnt to have sent feelers to Bharti for reviving talks if it failed to clinch a deal with RCOM.
Sources close to the development reveals that Bharti was ‘open to take the discussions with MTN forward’. However, it is possible that other global telcos may also enter the fray for MTN.
