UK’s Vodafone Group Plc has reportedly sold its holding in Bharti Airtel, India’s top telecom operator, for $200 million to Bharti Enterprises to conform with regulatory needs. The disposal follows the new Unified Licence regime in India published by the Department of Telecoms, which prohibits the holding by a group of an interest in more than one licensee company in the same service area.
Vodafone's Indian unit, the country’s No. 2 carrier, is Bharti Airtel’s closest competitor in the market. Vodafone had bought a 10% stake in Bharti Airtel in 2005 and sold a part of it in 2007 post its acquisition of Hutchison-Essar, now renamed Vodafone India.
Bharti Airtel is a leading integrated telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top 5 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers.
