"Bharti quiet on reports MTN merger talks at crucial stage"

The leading mobile phone group Bharti Airtel declined comment on media reports on Friday that its negotiations to merge with Africa's top cellular player MTN were entering a crucial phase.

Bharti might offer the chairman's post of the proposed merged colossus to South Africa's MTN group chairman M.C. Ramaphosa in a bid to sweeten its overtures, the media reported.

Bharti's billionaire chairman Sunil Mittal would be deputy chairman and group chief executive officer while MTN chief executive officer Phutomo Nhleko would be deputy group CEO, the paper reported, quoting unnamed bankers it said were close to the talks.

"We have no further comment beyond our earlier statement... that discussions being held are aimed at combining the strengths of two players from emerging markets," a Bharti official, who wished to remain unnamed, said. The company has said it is "veering toward possible structures to achieve this objective."

Bharti's run for the South African flagship group were now at a "crucial negotiation phase," the Times of India reported. Mittal has met several times with top MTN officials in London since Bharti announced earlier this month the two companies were in "exploratory talks".

Bharti wants to acquire a 51 percent stake. But MTN, which serves 21 markets across Africa and the Middle East, is pushing Bharti to buy out 100 percent of the company in a transaction that could be portrayed in South Africa as a merger of equals, reports said.

A merged group would create a mobile behemoth with a network of 130 million subscribers 68.2 million from MTN and 62 million from Bharti -- that would dominate two of the world's fastest growing markets India and Africa.

Originally the price tag for MTN was quoted at 40 billion dollars for a 100 percent buyout of MTN but now the figure is up to 50 billion dollars or 25 dollars a share, based on MTN's surging stock price and analyst expectations that Bharti might have to pay a possible 25 percent premium.

Mittal is also seeking an exclusivity agreement with MTN to be signed this week barring MTN from sharing any information for a merger with any other firm, Indian newspapers reported.

But MTN's management is balking, saying it would be "anti-shareholder," the Times of India said. If successful, Bharti's deal would easily eclipse Tata Steel's 13-billion-dollar takeover of Corus Steel last year, India's biggest foreign acquisition so far.