Bharti and MTN Extend Merger Talks Deadline

Bharti Airtel has issued a brief statement that it has extended the period of exclusive talks with South Africa based MTN Group for their ongoing merger talks. The deadline for an agreement, which has already been extended once will now expire at the end of next month.

A report by the CNBC TV-18 television channel, cited by Dow Jones Newswires said that the two companies have completed their negotiations on most of the terms, but sticking points still exist over how the board of directors would be comprised.

The composition of the board was one of the reasons why talks between the two companies broke down last year.

Although the specifics of the merger deal are still confidential, sufficient detail has emerged to suggest that Bharti will take a 49% stake in MTN, while MTN would take a 25% stake in Bharti for US$2.9 billion in cash plus new shares. There have been reports that the MTN wants Bharti Airtel to increase its offer by around US$1 billion to secure the deal.

Although Bharti Airtel has issued the statement extending the talks, at the time of going to press, MTN Group does not seem to have issued a statement of its own. Previously, both companies synchronized their public statement timings.

On the web: Dow Jones Newswire

Posted to the site on 20th August 2009