NEW DELHI, India-Singapore Telecom said it is acquiring minority stakes in two companies within India’s Bharti Group for $400 million. The investment is the single- largest investment by an international investor in India’s telecom industry and the largest to date by a Singapore company in India, according to SingTel.
According to the agreement, SingTel will acquire about 20 percent of Bharti Telecom Ltd. and about 30 percent of Bharti Televentures Ltd. Bharti offers cellular service in New Delhi and in the Indian circles, or states, of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. It also has fixed-line, Internet and satellite assets.
“Through the initiation of new projects and fresh acquisitions, Bharti seeks to achieve a pan-India presence,” SingTel said.
In addition, the companies will work together to develop projects in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation region, including cellular and other telecom ventures.
“This partnership heralds the beginning of a new era of cooperation between India and an Asian powerhouse,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and group managing director of Bharti Enterprises. “With its wealth of experience as a multidimensional carrier and service provider, SingTel will play a key role as a partner of Bharti in our mobile networks and in all areas of fixed-mobile convergence.”
India’s wireless industry has seen tremendous consolidation during the last six months, following the government’s implementation last year of a new revenue-sharing scheme, which requires operators to give a percentage of their revenues to the government in lieu of license fees.
Two titans in the Indian wireless industry-Tata Communications and Birla AT&T Communications-merged earlier this year. Bharti Cellular acquired two carriers in March for $151 million. Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa has also made several acquisitions this year, totaling about $280 million.
The SingTel/Bharti agreement is conditional upon the completion of agreements relating to the transactions and the approval of all relevant authorities and third parties, SingTel said.
India has a cellular penetration of 0.2 percent.
