Bharti denies agreement reached with MTN

New Delhi, Sep 11: Indian mobile-phone company Bharti Airtel has denied it had reached an agreement with South Africa's MTN.

The two companies had reached a $24 billion preliminary agreement, Bloomberg said on Wednesday, Sep 9. But Bharti said the talks between the two were still going on.

"We would like to categorically deny that any such agreement has been reached between the two companies," Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

"The discussions are still on. As and when there is any development, we would be happy to share the same with the media," it said.

Citing three people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that Bharti had sweetened its bid to buy 49 pc of MTN by increasing the cash portion of its offer.

Bharti will buy 36 pc of MTN for $7 billion at 86 rand per share. Bharti will also pick up an additional 20 pc by subscribing to fresh shares issued by the South African firm.

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