SES urges Bharti shareholders to reject Telenor deal

MUMBAI: Proxy advisory firm Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES) has advised Bharti Airtel’s shareholders to reject the company’s proposal to acquire Telenor India when it comes up for voting on Tuesday. In a report to investors, SES said the accounting standards of the two companies were conflicting and as per rules under the Companies Act, Bharti must revise and audit the accounts based on its own standards once the acquisition was closed. The different accounting standards could lead to a write-off by Bharti and this was not factored in the merger proposal to shareholders, it said.

While Airtel got a valuation done, it doesn’t factor in most recent financial results of Telenor’s India business and therefore shareholders can’t take an informed decision on the resolution, the firm said. The firm appended an email exchange with Bharti to its report.

According to it, Bharti said: “We already have the accounting scheme certificate and fairness report from EY and we have bought the assets at fair value so impairment of assets is already taken care of.” In February, Bharti announced a no-cash deal to buy Telenor’s assets in India. Norway-based Telenor had been looking to sell its business here and its decision was expedited by the entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm to the telecom market with cheap tariff plans.

For Bharti, the deal would help eliminate a competitor and add spectrum fit for 4G services at a relatively low cost. Bharti Airtel, the bellwether in the telecom market, is fighting a fierce competition with Jio, which started offering services on its 4G-only network late last year