Bharti Airtel board approves merger of subsidiary Airtel Broadband Services with itself

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile phone operator, said it has approved the merger of a wireless broadband company it recently acquired from US' Qualcomm with itself.

The merger is subject to court approval, Bharti Airtel said in a statement to the stock exchanges on Thursday.

The company's shares ended 0.6% higher at 349.85 on the Bombay Stock Exchange in a negative broad market. Bharti Airtel had recently raised its stake in the then Qualcomm broadband unit, Wireless Business Services (WBSPL), to 100%, renamed it Airtel Broadband Services, and made it a wholly-owned subsidiary.

In May 2012, it had bought an initial 49% stake in Wireless Business Services for $165 million, and then gradually raised its holding. It has also taken over all the debt of Wireless Business Services.

The acquisition of Wireless Business, now called Airtel Broadband Services, gave it broadband wireless, or 4G, bandwidth in the four circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala and Haryana.

Bharti Airtel already had similar airwaves in Punjab, Maharashtra, Kolkata and Karnataka circles. It has already started offering 4G services in Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula.

The announcement comes at a time when the telecom department (DoT) is deliberating whether a company like WBSPL, which acquired an internet service provider's (ISP) licence on winning spectrum in the 2010 broadband wireless access auctions, is allowed to dilute promoter's stake to below 26% as per auction rules.