Bharti Airtel Talk to Tata Group to Merge DTH Business
Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced that it is engaging with the Tata Group to discuss a possible merger of Tata Play DTH business with Bharti Telemedia Ltd., its subsidiary. The transaction, as per media reports, would involve a share swap. This confirmation came in an exchange filing where Airtel stated, “The above is at a discussion stage only.
”Airtel is expected to secure a 52-55% stake in the resulting entity, while Tata Play stakeholders, including Tata Sons and Walt Disney, would hold 45-48%. The merged entity’s operations are estimated to be worth approximately Rs 7000 crore on figures and would serve a combined total of 35 million subscribers.
If finalized, the merger would enable Airtel to expand its revenue from non-mobile services by combining telecom, broadband, and DTH into one subscription package. It would also grant Airtel access to the Tata Play network, which connects 19 million homes and includes 500,000 broadband users. Valuation estimates from the report place both Airtel Digital TV and Tata Play DTH businesses at Rs 6000-7000 crore each. Tata Play’s history traces back to 2004 when it started as Tata Sky, a collaboration between Tata Sons and 21st Century Fox.
