May 25 (Reuters) - India's Bharti Airtel Ltd (BRTI.BO) and
South Africa's MTN Group (MTNJ.J) have restarted merger talks
to create a major emerging markets telecoms group, a year after
previous talks broke down over who would control a combined
entity.
Based on end-March figures, a merger would create one of
the world's top four mobile firms by users with 195 million
mobile subscribers in more than 20 countries. Bharti also has
fixed-line operations.
Bharti said the potential value of what is a complex deal
in which both firms pay cash and stock for stakes in each
other, was more than $23 billion.
For more, click [ID:nSP477731]
Following are key facts about the two companies:
Bharti Airtel MTN Revenue
$7.8 bln (FY ended March) $12.3 bln (FY ended Dec) Profit
$1.8 bln $2.1 bln Market Cap $34.5 bln
$26.9 bln Subscribers 96.6 mln (Mobile,
March) 98.2 mln (March)
BHARTI AIRTEL:
* Bharti Airtel is the leading operator in India, the
world's fastest-growing wireless market. The firm competes with
10 others in an increasingly crowded Indian mobile sector.
* Bharti said on May 15 its total subscriber base had
crossed 100 million, doubling since October 2007. It hopes to
double customers to 200 million within three years.
* Bharti, which began mobile services in 1995 after India
opened up the sector, also has mobile operations in Sri Lanka.
* Southeast Asia's top phone firm, Singapore
Telecommunications (STEL.SI), owns about 31 percent of Bharti.
* Bharti's main rivals in India are Reliance Communications
Ltd (RLCM.BO), whose tie-up talks with MTN failed last year,
and Vodafone Essar, majority owned by Vodafone (VOD.L).
MTN:
* Founded in 1994, MTN operates in 21 countries in Africa
and the Middle East. The bulk of its subscribers are in South
Africa, Nigeria, Iran, Ghana, Syria, Cameroon, and Uganda. It
is Africa's largest mobile phone operator by subscribers.
* MTN said on its website it reached 100 million
subscribers in April.
* MTN's major competitors are Vodacom (VODJ.J), the South
African mobile operator in which Vodafone (VOD.L) holds a
majority stake; South Africa's No. 3 wireless firm Cell C
[CELL.UL], and Kuwait's largest mobile operator Mobile
Telecommunications Co (ZAIN.KW).
Top global wireless firms by subscribers (millions)
China Mobile (0941.HK) - 477 (end-March)
Vodafone (VOD.L) - 303 (end-March)
Telefonica SA (TEF.MC) - 198 (end-March)
America Movil (AMX.N) - 187 (end-March)
Telenor (TEL.OL) - 166 (end-March)
China Unicom (0762.HK) - 133 (end-2008)
($1=47.2 rupees=8.3 rand)
(Source: Thomson Reuters; Reuters News; company websites)
(Compiled by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by John Mair)
