Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Bharti Airtel, SingTel to float SPV for MTN


Billionaire Sunil Mittal, the founder of Bharti Airtel, plans to set up a separate company in partnership with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) that will be the vehicle for acquisition of the South Africa-based MTN Group.

The special purpose vehicle (SPV) will raise funds, including bridge loans. The company will later explore the option of selling American depository receipts (ADRs) or global depository receipts (GDRs) to repay the bridge loan.The SPV may be registered in a tax-haven country, like Mauritius or Bahamas.

The move to float an SPV will help Bharti Airtel to continue being listed on Indian stock exchanges, while MTN's promoters will be given a stake in the SPV. The quantum of the stake will depend on the cash-share ratio, which is yet to be finalised between Bharti and MTN. Bharti Airtel would raise funds by diluting the equity of the SPV and, if needed, the promoters' stake in Bharti and that of its partner SingTel to part-finance the deal.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Related Story:
Bharti, MTN in talks for 50:50 cash-share deal
Bharti may rope in SingTel for MTN buy

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