Bharti Airtel to acquire Telenor India

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, the largest domestic telecom operator by subscriber base, on Thursday said that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Telenor South Asia Investments to acquire Telenor India Communications that will give it an access to seven circles including Gujarat, Maharashtra, UP East and UP West.

In a BSE filing, the operator said that the acquisition will include transfer of all Telenor India’s assets and customers, which will boost the company’s customer base and network.

These seven markets, which include Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Assam, will give an additional 43.4 MHz spectrum to the company in the 1800 MHz band.

Telenor India’s operations and services will continue as normal, until the transaction is completed, the company said.

Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, “On completion, the proposed acquisition will undergo seamless integration, both on the customer as well as the network side, and further strengthen our market position in several key circles.”


Data showed Telenor had a market share of 3.9 per cent as of December 2016. Its active subscriber stood at 38 million (3.8 crore) at December end. Bharti Airtel, on the other hand, is the market leader with 26.1 per cent market share and a subscriber base of 258 million (25.8 crore).

"The acquisition of additional spectrum through this transaction, which made an attractive business proposition, has further enhanced our already solid spectrum portfolio," Vittal said. The proposed transaction, Vittal said, would create long-term value for Bharti Airtel's shareholders given the significant synergies.