Crank CALL
The Bharti-MTN deal may be off, but it has pitchforked the Indian telecom giant into the big league, says Mansi Tiwari
OOPS they did it again! The promiscuous South African telecom major MTN has called off merger talks, if India’s telecom giant Bharti Airtel’s reported version on the deal is to be believed. Interestingly, what would have been the biggest telecom deal ever was reportedly “broken over the phone”.
To any casual observer, this sudden weekend development would come as no surprise. At least four times in the past three years, MTN was believed to be in talks with a potential overseas partner. MTN confirmed the talks publicly on two occasions. While no deal took place, the MTN stock zoomed and smart investors made a killing.
In fact, talks of a possible sellout of its stake have been making news since 2005. In the past few years, the South African telecom giant has declared talks with various companies. And every time the company claimed to be in talks for a deal, the company’s valuation rose sharply. In October 2005, MTN announced that it was in the middle of a deal that would have a big impact on its share price. Though the buyer was not disclosed, the shares gained 23% during October-November 2005. Again in November 2006, it was reported that China’s state-owned operator, China Mobile, was negotiating with it for a deal. The Chinese company denied any such negotiations, but MTN share prices rose again, this time by 6%. In March, 2008, there was news that British telecom giant Vodafone was looking for a stake in the company and the share prices reacted once more in favour of MTN. Since the news about the current talks with Bharti came out, the share price of MTN has gained by 20%, adding close to $10 billion to the company’s market value.
SAFARI DREAMS INTERRUPTED
Bharti’s statement, dated May 24, has held MTN responsible for the collapsed deal. “An in-principle agreement was reached on May 16 and a term sheet was initiated between the two lead bankers. This agreed term sheet was presented to the MTN Board on Wednesday, the 21st of May. MTN has now presented a completely different structure, from what was agreed,” the statement explains. This new structure would have meant Bharti Airtel becoming a subsidiary of MTN and exchange of majority shares of Bharti Airtel held by the Bharti family and SingTel, in exchange for a controlling stake in MTN.
Bharti has made its global expansions plan, either organically or through acquisitions, well-known for a long time now and it has participated in auctions for bidding for telecom licenses in countries like Kenya, but eventually lost out to global competition. Earlier, it was in talks with the Gabonese government to acquire a stake in the country’s national operator. The zest to fan out continued and the bid for MTN was one step forward in that direction, even if it would have meant a burden on its finances — Bharti could have ended up paying up to $20 billion, half its size of $40 billion. Bharti’s statement makes it clear that the company is still keen on international expansion.
“Everyone sees some value in expansion. The company either expands geography or product portfolio. Though there is a lot happening in India right now, Bharti has saturated its market. It already has a slew of products in its offering and it makes complete sense to tap the emerging market of Africa,” says an official from a rival firm.
In fact, Bharti was almost ready with the possible funding options. In terms of subscriber base, the two companies are almost the same size, but revenue-wise, MTN is 48% higher, given its significantly higher ARPUs or average revenues per user, which stands at $16 as against Bharti’s $8.9. However, it is the South African and Nigerian markets which enjoy ARPUs of $23 and $15.6, respectively, which accounted for a majority of MTN’s revenues and Bharti was looking at hitting this segment. Interestingly, according to a May 6 Angel Broking report, for 19 out of the 21 markets in which MTN operates, the ARPUs are $12.1, higher by around 35% compared to Bharti.
From a pure business perspective, the breakthrough of the deal would have brought about a double bonanza for a company like Bharti. It is common knowledge that India offers huge opportunities for telecom companies. A 2007 Ficci study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for the ministry of communications and information technology noted, “The tele density of India at about 23 coupled with its billion-plus population offers immense growth potential for the telecom services sector in the coming years when compared with growth expectations from most developed markets with a teledensity of over 70-80.”
With countries and regions such as the US, Canada, Europe and Latin America stagnating in terms of growth potential — they contribute nearly 65% to the global telecom services revenues marketshare — it is only natural for companies like Bharti to woo partners which can open new vistas. Other than the Asia-Pacific region, notes the PwC report, “Middle East and Africa are also expected to grow significantly due to increasing demand arising out of their under developed telecom infrastructure.”
The script of Bharti looked like a well thought out one. For good reason, as well. A small note at the MTN website says, “MTN is a growing multinational company that is seeking to expand its African footprint and expand into the Middle East.” For the record, MTN divides its operation into three major regions, all of which are among the fastest growing: South and East Africa (SEA), West and Central Africa (WECA) and Middle East and North America (MENA). With a subscriber base of 68 million plus — 6 million more than Bharti’s — and footprints in 21 countries — far more (19) than Bharti’s — MTN became Bharti’s natural choice.
KEEP CALLING
Despite the collapse of the deal, the acquisition move by the promoters of India’s leading GSM provider has made people sit up and take note. The successful completion of the deal reiterates the message sent out earlier after the acquisition of global steel and auto giants Corus and Jaguar by the Tatas — that the world is no longer the domain of American, Japanese and European multinationals. Indian companies, too, can make giant leaps and this could just be the beginning of a great Indian corporate turnaround story.
Dr Amit Mitra, secretary general of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci), says that India Inc should not give up hopes of entering the African market. “For several years now, South Africa has been trying to engage itself with India in the entire spectrum of e-governance using telecom and IT. The Bharti-MTN deal would have been good not just for Bharti as a company but for the entire political and economic relations between India and Africa. However, the Indian companies should not give up their endeavour to enter into the African market as it has huge political-economic spin-offs” he asserts.
That said, most experts feel that Bharti’s bid would have heralded a new era for the Indian telecom story, which has come a long way in the last 15 years, to emerge as world’s third largest telecom market with revenues of over $22 billion. India, like in many other sectors, was a relatively late starter in telecom. In a very short span of time, it, however, did a sprint run and caught up with the rest of the world, with an annual subscriber growth of about 45% and revenue growth of 25%. A global footprint will only catapult the Indian telecom sector to a higher plane and aid in perpetuating, what sociologists choose to call, Indianisation of the globe, contrary to globalisation in India.
“This would have completely changed the way the world looks at the Indian telecom sector. Bharti has already established its clear leadership in India. Had this deal materialised, Bharti would have made significant footprints outside India. However, the initiative has created an aura around Bharti that here is an Indian telco that has the audacity to think of acquiring a multi-billion dollar company,” says Sudershan Banerjee, former Hutchison CEO and currently the cofounder and MD, India Market Business Advisory.
IS IT GAINS FOR INVESTORS?
For shareholders, this was supposed be the tip of the iceberg. Initial reactions varied in India and South Africa, MTN’s parent country. While MTN’s stock prices showed positive trends till now, Dalal Street exhibited signs of nervousness, plummeting Bharti’s stock prices. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, Bharti’s share price dipped by 2.28% to Rs 836.80 since the day (April 24) news broke out of a possible takeover of MTN. However, as is natural, this was more owing to the vagueness and uncertainty that shrouded the “exploratory talks” than anything else.
Analysts, too, had suggested caution before arriving at any conclusion for the deal. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, CEO of Reliance Money, feels that with the deal not going through, Bharti should receive a positive reaction from the bourse. “The company would have got overleveraged if they had consumed MTN. The initial reaction on Dalal Street when it opens up for trading may be a knee-jerk one but it would surely gain as the day will progress,” he says. However, if the deal had been clinched, investors could have lost out on returns in the short to medium term. As analysts had noted, the shareholders of Bharti would have had to wait for 12-18 months to reap the benefits.
They further say that had the deal gone through, Bharti would have begun focusing more on its overseas markets, given the challenges involved, which in turn would have meant loss of focus on the burgeoning Indian telecom market.
But all said and done, had the deal come through, it would have brought laurels to the country and the Indian telecom sector. The shareholders could have benefited later.
CROSS Connection
M-Cell was incorporated in South Africa in 1994 and owned 25% of MTN Holdings
In 1995-96, M-Cell was converted into a public co with investments that include a 25% shareholding in MTN Holdings and a 60% shareholding in M-Tel (now MTN Service Provider)
In 1997-99, MTN Intl expanded into Africa, acquiring licences in Uganda, Rwanda and Swaziland. M-Cell also hiked its stake in MTN Holdings to 72%
M-Cell renamed MTN Group Ltd in 2002 to reinforce African presence and awareness of the brand
In 2006, MTN Group acquired Investcom LLC for $5.526 billion (Rs 33.5 billion). This transaction created a pre-eminent mobile operator in the emerging markets such as Africa and West Asia (With inputs from Rashmi Pratap in Mumbai and Aman Dhall in New Delhi)
Sunday, May 25, 2008
"FLIRTING WITH SUITORS"
With operations in 21 countries across Africa and Middle East, MTN is one of the largest telecom players in Africa
Mansi Tiwari
A SOUTH Africa-based company, MTN is communication service provider offering cellularbased services and business solutions. With operations in 21 countries across Africa and the Middle East, it is one of the largest emerging market mobile operators globally. Founded in 1994, the company at the end of March 2008 had a total of 68.2 million mobile subscribers.
The operations of the company are broadly divided into three major regions — South & East Africa (SEA), West and Central Africa (WECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Being among the top two operators in most of its market, MTN enjoys a dominant share in the market.
The company’s widespread geographical operations and rapid expansion for the past few years has led to a significant increase in the addressable population size from just 41 million in 1997 (only South African presence) to 274 million in 2005 (several African countries) to nearly 511 million at the end of 2007, with a presence across North, South, East, West and Central Africa as well as in the Middle East region.
The MTN Group operates in Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Iran, Afghanistan, Benin, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Liberia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
In the past this South African giant has reportedly declared talks for deals with various companies. But the interesting point to note is that everytime it has happened, the price of MTN’s stock have risen dramatically.
Mansi Tiwari
A SOUTH Africa-based company, MTN is communication service provider offering cellularbased services and business solutions. With operations in 21 countries across Africa and the Middle East, it is one of the largest emerging market mobile operators globally. Founded in 1994, the company at the end of March 2008 had a total of 68.2 million mobile subscribers.
The operations of the company are broadly divided into three major regions — South & East Africa (SEA), West and Central Africa (WECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Being among the top two operators in most of its market, MTN enjoys a dominant share in the market.
The company’s widespread geographical operations and rapid expansion for the past few years has led to a significant increase in the addressable population size from just 41 million in 1997 (only South African presence) to 274 million in 2005 (several African countries) to nearly 511 million at the end of 2007, with a presence across North, South, East, West and Central Africa as well as in the Middle East region.
The MTN Group operates in Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Iran, Afghanistan, Benin, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Liberia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
In the past this South African giant has reportedly declared talks for deals with various companies. But the interesting point to note is that everytime it has happened, the price of MTN’s stock have risen dramatically.
"EVEN AS THE DEAL COLLAPSES, THERE’RE POSITIVES TO TAKE HOME BONUS POINTS"
Bharti shares may get a fillip
Our Bureau MUMBAI
BHARTI Airtel’s decision to call off negotiations to buy out South African telecom service provider MTN is likely to provide a temporary fillip to the Indian telecom major’s shares. Already, the market appears to have had a whiff of the development on Friday, as Bharti Airtel shares rallied 2.5% in a weak market to close at Rs 836.80. The stock has shed roughly 7% since the company announced on May 6 that it had initiated talks with MTN for acquiring a stake in that company.
Telecom analysts feel that Bharti Airtel shares may gain further on Monday as the concerns about any potential financial burden due to a possible takeover of MTN have subsided. “The markets are likely to react positively to Bharti’s decision as short terms concerns relating to financing the acquisition no longer remain. Of course, the development would affect Bharti’s plan to have an international presence, which could weigh on the stock in the longer term,” says Harit Shah, research analyst, Angel Broking.
Telecom analysts say Bharti would soon be on the look out for an alternative target in some other developing market. These could be any company in Latin America, Africa or South Asia, as part of the company’s plan to have a global footprint. “Past incidents have shown MTN’s inconsistency and this was once again proved. Even as MTN’s reputation would take a setback, it would not affect Bharti’s brand value,” adds Mr Shah.
Our Bureau MUMBAI
BHARTI Airtel’s decision to call off negotiations to buy out South African telecom service provider MTN is likely to provide a temporary fillip to the Indian telecom major’s shares. Already, the market appears to have had a whiff of the development on Friday, as Bharti Airtel shares rallied 2.5% in a weak market to close at Rs 836.80. The stock has shed roughly 7% since the company announced on May 6 that it had initiated talks with MTN for acquiring a stake in that company.
Telecom analysts feel that Bharti Airtel shares may gain further on Monday as the concerns about any potential financial burden due to a possible takeover of MTN have subsided. “The markets are likely to react positively to Bharti’s decision as short terms concerns relating to financing the acquisition no longer remain. Of course, the development would affect Bharti’s plan to have an international presence, which could weigh on the stock in the longer term,” says Harit Shah, research analyst, Angel Broking.
Telecom analysts say Bharti would soon be on the look out for an alternative target in some other developing market. These could be any company in Latin America, Africa or South Asia, as part of the company’s plan to have a global footprint. “Past incidents have shown MTN’s inconsistency and this was once again proved. Even as MTN’s reputation would take a setback, it would not affect Bharti’s brand value,” adds Mr Shah.
"potential bidder for MTN"
RCOM emerges
potential bidder
RELIANCE Communications is also believed to be in talks with MTN for a possible deal, reports Our Mumbai Bureau. Media reports on Saturday said RCOM has been in discussion with MTN officials since Thursday night. RCOM, however, declined to comment. This is the second time that RCOM's name has surfaced as a possible bidder for MTN. Early this month too, the CDMA major was said to be interested in the South African co. CALL DROP Blame it on FDI cap
THIS agreed term sheet was presented to the MTN board on May 21. It is learnt that the MTN board expressed its displeasure with some aspects of the Bharti proposal. According to sources, MTN’s independent directors were believed to be concerned about how the structure proposed by Bharti will get around India’s FDI restriction of 74% foreign ownership. The directors expressed doubts over Bharti’s proposed solution and were unwilling to commit themselves. Secondly, the directors were not happy with the amount of debt that is being loaded on to the books of the combined entity. About $20 bn of debt would have been taken on by the combined entity, as per Bharti’s proposal. The directors felt that such a large leverage would put a leash on the entity’s plans and prevent it from pushing ahead with its expansions. But this could not be confirmed.
Sources say India’s 74% FDI sectoral cap turned out to be significant obstacle in the negotiations. It is learnt that Bharti executives had sounded off government officials about the possibility of waiving off the 74% cap for this transaction but did not get a favourable response.
While questions have been raised about Bharti’s ability to raise the funds required to fund the acquisition or the cash-cum-stock merger, the company has said it arranged letters of credit to the tune of $60 billion from banks in the US and Europe. At the same time, Bharti also clarified that it would not engage in a bidding war for MTN. Bharti would have required anywhere between $40 billion to $50 billion for a 100% acquisition.
The Bharti stock has fallen by over 12% from over Rs 900/share from late last month when news about a it being in discussions with MTN first became public. On Friday, Bharti shares closed at at Rs 836.80.
potential bidder
RELIANCE Communications is also believed to be in talks with MTN for a possible deal, reports Our Mumbai Bureau. Media reports on Saturday said RCOM has been in discussion with MTN officials since Thursday night. RCOM, however, declined to comment. This is the second time that RCOM's name has surfaced as a possible bidder for MTN. Early this month too, the CDMA major was said to be interested in the South African co. CALL DROP Blame it on FDI cap
THIS agreed term sheet was presented to the MTN board on May 21. It is learnt that the MTN board expressed its displeasure with some aspects of the Bharti proposal. According to sources, MTN’s independent directors were believed to be concerned about how the structure proposed by Bharti will get around India’s FDI restriction of 74% foreign ownership. The directors expressed doubts over Bharti’s proposed solution and were unwilling to commit themselves. Secondly, the directors were not happy with the amount of debt that is being loaded on to the books of the combined entity. About $20 bn of debt would have been taken on by the combined entity, as per Bharti’s proposal. The directors felt that such a large leverage would put a leash on the entity’s plans and prevent it from pushing ahead with its expansions. But this could not be confirmed.
Sources say India’s 74% FDI sectoral cap turned out to be significant obstacle in the negotiations. It is learnt that Bharti executives had sounded off government officials about the possibility of waiving off the 74% cap for this transaction but did not get a favourable response.
While questions have been raised about Bharti’s ability to raise the funds required to fund the acquisition or the cash-cum-stock merger, the company has said it arranged letters of credit to the tune of $60 billion from banks in the US and Europe. At the same time, Bharti also clarified that it would not engage in a bidding war for MTN. Bharti would have required anywhere between $40 billion to $50 billion for a 100% acquisition.
The Bharti stock has fallen by over 12% from over Rs 900/share from late last month when news about a it being in discussions with MTN first became public. On Friday, Bharti shares closed at at Rs 836.80.
"LOG BOOK "
LOG BOOK
Feb: Bharti & MTN begin talks
April: News first breaks that Bharti is eyeing MTN
April 25: Bharti management denies MTN bid
May 2: Sunil Mittal says MTN has not even invited Bharti for talks
May 5: Bharti takes a U-turn, says it is in exploratory talk with MTN
May 6: Bharti says it hasn’t made offer for MTN
May 13: Bharti says talks with MTN aimed at combining the strengths of the two
May 16: Bharti- MTN reach ‘in-principle’ agreement and a term sheet initialled between two lead bankers
May 21: MTN board meets to consider term sheet. MTN proposes alternate model where Bharti becomes its subsidiary
May 24: ET first reports that talks have reached a stalemate
May 24: Bharti announces that talks with MTN have been called off
MTN’s been flirting with suitors
THE promiscuous South African telecom major MTN has called off merger talks, if Bharti Airtel’s reported version on the deal is to be believed. But this not new for MTN. At least four times in the last three years, MTN was in talks with potential overseas partner. While no deal took place, the MTN stock zoomed and smart investors made a killing, says Mansi Tiwari.
Booster dose for
Bharti shares
BHARTI Airtel’s decision to call off talks to buy out MTN is likely to provide a temporary fillip to the Indian telecom major’s shares, reports Our Mumbai Bureau. The market appears to have had a whiff of the development on Friday itself as Bharti Airtel shares rallied 2.5% in a weak market to close at Rs 836.80. The stock has shed roughly 7% since the company announced on May 6 that it had initiated talks with MTN.
Feb: Bharti & MTN begin talks
April: News first breaks that Bharti is eyeing MTN
April 25: Bharti management denies MTN bid
May 2: Sunil Mittal says MTN has not even invited Bharti for talks
May 5: Bharti takes a U-turn, says it is in exploratory talk with MTN
May 6: Bharti says it hasn’t made offer for MTN
May 13: Bharti says talks with MTN aimed at combining the strengths of the two
May 16: Bharti- MTN reach ‘in-principle’ agreement and a term sheet initialled between two lead bankers
May 21: MTN board meets to consider term sheet. MTN proposes alternate model where Bharti becomes its subsidiary
May 24: ET first reports that talks have reached a stalemate
May 24: Bharti announces that talks with MTN have been called off
MTN’s been flirting with suitors
THE promiscuous South African telecom major MTN has called off merger talks, if Bharti Airtel’s reported version on the deal is to be believed. But this not new for MTN. At least four times in the last three years, MTN was in talks with potential overseas partner. While no deal took place, the MTN stock zoomed and smart investors made a killing, says Mansi Tiwari.
Booster dose for
Bharti shares
BHARTI Airtel’s decision to call off talks to buy out MTN is likely to provide a temporary fillip to the Indian telecom major’s shares, reports Our Mumbai Bureau. The market appears to have had a whiff of the development on Friday itself as Bharti Airtel shares rallied 2.5% in a weak market to close at Rs 836.80. The stock has shed roughly 7% since the company announced on May 6 that it had initiated talks with MTN.
"INDIAN PRIDE COMES FIRST"
Bharti ends MTN call
South African telecom major accused of trying to push a structure wherein the Indian company would have become an arm of MTN
Our Bureau NEW DELHI
IT TURNED out to be a dropped call in the end. After almost four months of discussions, Bharti Airtel called off merger talks with South Africa’s MTN on Friday night, accusing it of deviating from agreed terms and of trying to push a structure which would have resulted in the Indian company becoming a subsidiary of MTN. The South African company also wanted majority shares of Bharti Airtel held by the Bharti family and Singtel in exchange for a controlling stake in MTN. This too was unacceptable to the Indian company.
“Bharti believes that this convoluted way of getting an indirect control of the combined entity would have compromised the minority shareholders of Bharti Airtel and also would not capture the synergies of a combined entity,’’ said a company statement. In an attempt to link the discussions with MTN to national pride, the statement adds: “Further and more importantly, Bharti’s vision of transforming itself from a home-grown Indian company to a true Indian multinational telecom giant, symbolising the pride of India, would have been severely compromised and this was completely unacceptable to Bharti.”
MTN, on its part, has promised to disclose it side of the story on Monday. “We will update our shareholders as the market opens on Monday morning,” MTN spokeswoman Nozipho January-Bardill told an international news agency.
The collapse of the merger talks means that the largest takeover attempt by an Indian company has ended in failure. ET had on May 24 reported that discussions between the two had reached a stalemate and that an announcement regarding the postponement of talks was expected shortly.
While Bharti has stated that “it wishes MTN all the best,” its unhappiness with the South African telco is evident. A successful merger would have led to the formation of the world’s sixth largest telecom company with a presence in 23 countries covering the African continent, Central and Western Asia and the Indian sub continent. At current valuations, the Bharti-MTN would have a m- cap of over $80 billion and a subscriber base of 130 million. And while Bharti has asserted that it remains keen to expand in the global arena, it is yet to be seen whether it can succesfully target a company of MTN’s scale and with which there is an equivalent synergystic fit. The breakdown of talks will also constitute a personal setback for Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal who was spearheading the negotiations and till a few days ago was pretty confident about the deal going through.
Discussions between Bharti and MTN are said to have begun in February and at that time a reference price of around 160 Rand per share (the then market price of MTN was less than 130 Rand) was agreed upon.
Subsequently, a number of structures were discussed and evaluated between the lead bankers on both sides. An in-principle agreement was reached on May 16 and a term sheet was initialled between the two lead bankers.
South African telecom major accused of trying to push a structure wherein the Indian company would have become an arm of MTN
Our Bureau NEW DELHI
IT TURNED out to be a dropped call in the end. After almost four months of discussions, Bharti Airtel called off merger talks with South Africa’s MTN on Friday night, accusing it of deviating from agreed terms and of trying to push a structure which would have resulted in the Indian company becoming a subsidiary of MTN. The South African company also wanted majority shares of Bharti Airtel held by the Bharti family and Singtel in exchange for a controlling stake in MTN. This too was unacceptable to the Indian company.
“Bharti believes that this convoluted way of getting an indirect control of the combined entity would have compromised the minority shareholders of Bharti Airtel and also would not capture the synergies of a combined entity,’’ said a company statement. In an attempt to link the discussions with MTN to national pride, the statement adds: “Further and more importantly, Bharti’s vision of transforming itself from a home-grown Indian company to a true Indian multinational telecom giant, symbolising the pride of India, would have been severely compromised and this was completely unacceptable to Bharti.”
MTN, on its part, has promised to disclose it side of the story on Monday. “We will update our shareholders as the market opens on Monday morning,” MTN spokeswoman Nozipho January-Bardill told an international news agency.
The collapse of the merger talks means that the largest takeover attempt by an Indian company has ended in failure. ET had on May 24 reported that discussions between the two had reached a stalemate and that an announcement regarding the postponement of talks was expected shortly.
While Bharti has stated that “it wishes MTN all the best,” its unhappiness with the South African telco is evident. A successful merger would have led to the formation of the world’s sixth largest telecom company with a presence in 23 countries covering the African continent, Central and Western Asia and the Indian sub continent. At current valuations, the Bharti-MTN would have a m- cap of over $80 billion and a subscriber base of 130 million. And while Bharti has asserted that it remains keen to expand in the global arena, it is yet to be seen whether it can succesfully target a company of MTN’s scale and with which there is an equivalent synergystic fit. The breakdown of talks will also constitute a personal setback for Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal who was spearheading the negotiations and till a few days ago was pretty confident about the deal going through.
Discussions between Bharti and MTN are said to have begun in February and at that time a reference price of around 160 Rand per share (the then market price of MTN was less than 130 Rand) was agreed upon.
Subsequently, a number of structures were discussed and evaluated between the lead bankers on both sides. An in-principle agreement was reached on May 16 and a term sheet was initialled between the two lead bankers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)