No revival talks with MTN: Bharti

Sunil Mittal, chairman and group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, has quashed rumours of a possible revival in merger talks with MTN, according to a report by CNBC-TV18.

The busines chanel quoted Mittal as saying, ''MTN needed an approval to invest in India to have a cross share holding, that's an approval that the Indian side does not require, but apparently MTN required clearance from the (South African) National Treasury.''

Mittal said, ''For this round, it's over now.''

Though a press release issued by Bharti after the talks were called off kept a window of hope open that there could be a possible revival of talks, Mittal has ruled it out.

Mittal also confirmed that Bharti was in advanced stages of talks for acquiring Millicom's operations in Sri Lanka.

Reacting to reports that Bharti was also interesting in Kuwait-based Zain Telecom, Mittal dismissed them as speculation.

The two companies have been in a long drawn negotiation to create the world's third biggest telecom network. For a second time, MTN, South Africa's largest telecom company, and Bharti Airtel, India's biggest mobile phone operator, were exploring a deal that could lead to a merger between the two companies. (See: Bharti-MTN merger was dead weeks ago)
 
Earlier, Treasury director-general Lesetja Kganyago had said the proposed tie-up required approval from the South African cabinet before it could go through. (See: Bharti-MTN deal may face SA regulatory hurdles)

"This structure needed an approval from the government of South Africa that has expressed its inability to accept it in the current form," Bharti Airtel stated.
 
"In view of this, both companies have taken the decision to disengage from discussion," the statement added further.