NEW DELHI, India—The Bharti group is in talks with shareholders in its Chennai operations to buy out the Skycell stakes to gain 100-percent ownership of the license.
Currently, Bharti Televentures, the holding company of the Bharti group, has a 40.5-percent stake in Skycell; the remainder is held by BellSouth (24.5 percent), Millicom (24.5 percent) and DSS Limited (10.5 percent). The New Delhi-based financial daily, Economic Times, quoted Bharti officials as saying all the three partners have agreed to divest their stakes in Skycell in favor of Bharti. The financial details of the deal are yet to be announced.
The complete ownership of Skycell would allow Bharti to extend its Airtel and Magicx brands to Chennai. Last year Bharti bought its current holding in Skycell from Crompton Greaves. With its recent bidding for a fourth cellular license, Bharti has emerged as a leader in the Indian cellular market.
Bharti in talks to buy Skycell stakes
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