After starting merger talks with African Telecom Giant MTN, Indian Telecom Major Bharati Airtel has said that it has ended merger talks with MTN. MTN has now presented a completely different structure, from what was agreed,'' Bharti said in the statement. ``Bharti has decided to disengage from the ongoing talks and has conveyed the same to MTN. 
The collapse of the talks ends Bharti Chairman Sunil Mittal's plans to unite two companies with a combined market value of more than $70 billion that would offer mobile-phone services to 1.7 billion people stretching from the Cape of Good Hope to the Himalayas. Bharti's departure may open the door for potential bidders such as Emirates Telecommunications Corp.
Bharti said it ended the talks late yesterday after MTN presented a new structure in which Bharti Airtel would become a subsidiary of the South African company. The Bharti family and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. would have had to exchange their majority stake in Bharti Airtel for a controlling stake in MTN, according to the structure, Bharti said.
Dropping the bid will allow Bharti to focus its investments on maintaining dominance in India's market and fend off competition from Reliance Communications Ltd. and Vodafone Group Plc. Mumbai-based Reliance, India's second-largest operator, is rolling out a second network this year.
Bharti MTN end merger talks
Source : Bloomberg
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