Bharti's failure to acquire MTN is definitely not a sign of a lull in merger and acquisition activities in the sector.
A consortium comprising BSNL, Delhi-based Vavasi and MTNL, among others, on Monday said it has started negotiations for acquiring a large stake in Zain Telecom, a company headquartered in Kuwait but with large operations in Africa.
Zain telecom management is already engaged in exclusive talks with the Vavasi lead consortium. But with BSNL and MTNL joining this consortium, due diligence for valuing the company is expected to start soon.
However, BSNL and MTNL would need government approval to fund this acquisition, if they win.
Zain telecom has been valued at over $13 billion but with BSNL finding it difficult to even make profits, experts say it will have to look very hard for money to fund this acquisition.