Once again, politics torpedoed two emerging markets’ telecom behemoths from walking down the aisle. The proposed $24 billion deal between India’s largest mobile player Bharti Airtel and South Africa’s flagship MTN was called off on September 30.
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Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom company, and South Africa’s MTN Group have resumed talks of a possible merger. A deal would create a telecom juggernaut with annual revenues of $20 billion and over 200 million subscribers across India, the Middle East and Africa. The user numbers alone would make the merged entity the third largest telecom player in the world after China Mobile and Vodafone, ahead of AT&T and many large European telcos.Read more