ID :
13791
Fri, 07/25/2008 - 15:03
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http://m.oananews.org//node/13791
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It's up to M.T.N. to decide on resuming talks: Bharti
New Delhi, July 25 (PTI) - Leading cellular operator Bharti Airtel Thursday threw the ball into M.T.N's. court on possibility of reviving their negotiations for a possible alliance, but said the company remains firm on its stand ofnot getting acquired.
"It is for M.T.N. to decide," Bharti Airtel Joint Managing Director and Group C.F.O. Akhil Gupta said, when asked whether any feelers have been exchanged with M.T.N. onrestarting the talks.
Gupta, however, clarified that the company's stand onthe structure of the alliance has not changed.
Late in May, Bharti had withrawn from talks with M.T.N.
for a possible alliance saying the South African company was proposing a deal structure that envisaged Bharti becoming asubsidiary of the Johannesburg-based firm.
After Bharti's withdrawal, Anil Ambani-led R.COM. had entered into negotiations with M.T.N., but the talks ended unsuccessfully earlier this month. With the talks running into rough weather between M.T.N. and R.COM., various reports have surfaced in the South African media about Bharti againentering into talks for a possible alliance with M.T.N.
"There were always synergies between both the companies to have an alliance. That is why we went up to a certain stage of our discussion with them," Gupta said here after releasingthe company's second quarter results.
Whether talks can be resumed with them after the breakdown of negotiations with Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications, he said, "Nothing has happened as yet. It is speculation at this stage to say if anything can move ahead from here between Bharti Airtel and M.T.N. Let's wait..." Asked if there has been any feelers to each other on a possible restarting of talks, Gupta said, "It is for M.T.N. to decide. What future will hold is hypothetical." Earlier this month when talks was still on with R.COM., the South African media started speculating that M.T.N. could look at a "less controversial" deal with Bharti Airtel instead of R.COM., a group firm of Anil Ambani, because of his feudwith elder brother Mukesh.
Such reports had been around even after M.T.N. and R.COM.
extended their exclusivity agreement for negotiations fromJuly 8 till July 21.
"The original, less controversial merger with Bharti Airtel could be back on the cards," a report in South Africandaily, The Times said, adding that this could be due to M.T.N.
wanting a "clean deal".
"Media frenzy surrounding M.T.N's. proposed merger with Reliance Communications is probably creating a useful smokescreen to allow it explore opportunities in other countries well away from the spotlight," another South Africandaily Business Day reported.
R.COM. and M.T.N. had first announced the start of their exclusive talks on May 26 after the South African firm's talks fell apart for a possible deal with Sunil Mittal-led BhartiAirtel, R.COM's. rival telecom operator in India.
The Times, in its report, said that M.T.N's. board, which met last week, might "well conclude that the deal (with R.COM.) has become too complicated and decide that it does not want its shareholders held hostage to an unwieldy legal battlein another jurisdiction".
After talks fell apart with R.COM., speculations have been rife in the media about M.T.N's. next move after the failure of talks with two Indian entities R.COM. and Bharti Airtel for a possible merger, with some saying that the South African telecom major might now target other telecom operators fromIndia.
Besides, M.T.N. might pursue a potential deal with companies from other emerging markets in Latin America and Asian nations like Pakistan and Bangladesh, media reports saidhere.
The door is not yet shut on M.T.N. in India as the country is "a huge market to walk away from," a report in financial daily Business Report said, quoting an analyst from research firm I.D.C. PTI ANA AMT
"It is for M.T.N. to decide," Bharti Airtel Joint Managing Director and Group C.F.O. Akhil Gupta said, when asked whether any feelers have been exchanged with M.T.N. onrestarting the talks.
Gupta, however, clarified that the company's stand onthe structure of the alliance has not changed.
Late in May, Bharti had withrawn from talks with M.T.N.
for a possible alliance saying the South African company was proposing a deal structure that envisaged Bharti becoming asubsidiary of the Johannesburg-based firm.
After Bharti's withdrawal, Anil Ambani-led R.COM. had entered into negotiations with M.T.N., but the talks ended unsuccessfully earlier this month. With the talks running into rough weather between M.T.N. and R.COM., various reports have surfaced in the South African media about Bharti againentering into talks for a possible alliance with M.T.N.
"There were always synergies between both the companies to have an alliance. That is why we went up to a certain stage of our discussion with them," Gupta said here after releasingthe company's second quarter results.
Whether talks can be resumed with them after the breakdown of negotiations with Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications, he said, "Nothing has happened as yet. It is speculation at this stage to say if anything can move ahead from here between Bharti Airtel and M.T.N. Let's wait..." Asked if there has been any feelers to each other on a possible restarting of talks, Gupta said, "It is for M.T.N. to decide. What future will hold is hypothetical." Earlier this month when talks was still on with R.COM., the South African media started speculating that M.T.N. could look at a "less controversial" deal with Bharti Airtel instead of R.COM., a group firm of Anil Ambani, because of his feudwith elder brother Mukesh.
Such reports had been around even after M.T.N. and R.COM.
extended their exclusivity agreement for negotiations fromJuly 8 till July 21.
"The original, less controversial merger with Bharti Airtel could be back on the cards," a report in South Africandaily, The Times said, adding that this could be due to M.T.N.
wanting a "clean deal".
"Media frenzy surrounding M.T.N's. proposed merger with Reliance Communications is probably creating a useful smokescreen to allow it explore opportunities in other countries well away from the spotlight," another South Africandaily Business Day reported.
R.COM. and M.T.N. had first announced the start of their exclusive talks on May 26 after the South African firm's talks fell apart for a possible deal with Sunil Mittal-led BhartiAirtel, R.COM's. rival telecom operator in India.
The Times, in its report, said that M.T.N's. board, which met last week, might "well conclude that the deal (with R.COM.) has become too complicated and decide that it does not want its shareholders held hostage to an unwieldy legal battlein another jurisdiction".
After talks fell apart with R.COM., speculations have been rife in the media about M.T.N's. next move after the failure of talks with two Indian entities R.COM. and Bharti Airtel for a possible merger, with some saying that the South African telecom major might now target other telecom operators fromIndia.
Besides, M.T.N. might pursue a potential deal with companies from other emerging markets in Latin America and Asian nations like Pakistan and Bangladesh, media reports saidhere.
The door is not yet shut on M.T.N. in India as the country is "a huge market to walk away from," a report in financial daily Business Report said, quoting an analyst from research firm I.D.C. PTI ANA AMT
