No 'immediate' acquisition plans: Airtel

New Delhi, Nov 8 : Country's leading telecom services provider Bharti Airtel Ltd today said the company is not looking for acquisitions in the immediate future after it talks to acquire a 49 per cent stake in South Africa's largest telco MTN failed.

''We are taking a break'', Chairman and Managing Director Sunil Mittal told reporters here on the sidelines of the World Economic Summit.

The deal size between Bharti Airtel and MTN was estimated to be worth over 23 billion dollars and the combined entity would have been among the top five operators globally with revenues worth 20 billion dollars and 200 million subscriber base.

When asked about the price war being witnessed in the telecom space with leading mobile operators resorting to a per-second billing plan, Mr Mittal said the question is how long this is going to last.

''This is a business that needs huge investments, one has to commit billions of dollars,'' he said, adding that lower returns on investments would force consolidations in the industry.

''At the end of the day every economic model will require returns and if there are no returns, you will see consolidation,'' he said.

''World over consolidation has taken place. Wherever there have been more operators, they have been reduced. There is an empirical evidence,'' Mr Mittal said.

On the 3G auctions being deferred, he said it is a ''cause of concern'' and the company hopes that the allocation takes place early.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
Unauthorised publication of any content from NewKerala.Com is prohibited