Bharti Airtel Ltd.

Bharti Airtel Ltd, India’s biggest telecom company, and South Africa’s MTN Group Ltd reached a $24-billion preliminary agreement to buy each other’s shares, the first step in a planned merger. Bharti sweetened its bid to buy 49 per cent of MTN by raising the cash portion of its $14 billion offer. MTN, Africa’s biggest wireless company, and its shareholders are poised to acquire 33 per cent of Bharti for about $10 billion.

The world’s biggest cross-border deal this year would pave the way for the creation of a mobile-phone carrier with annual sales of $20 billion and 200 million wireless subscribers from Johannesburg to Mumbai. The accord would need the approval of 75 per cent of MTN’s shareholders, some of whom have said Bharti should raise its offer from a bid disclosed in May.

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, which owns about 30 per cent of Bharti, agreed to invest as much as $3 billion to buy Bharti shares. Bharti agreed to give $4 billion in stock to two of MTN’s biggest shareholders, M1 Group and South Africa’s Public Investment Corp, while offering remaining shareholders $10 billion in cash.

Bharti on May 25 offered 86 rand in cash plus half a Bharti stock for each MTN share, for a 49 per cent stake, while Africa’s largest mobile-phone company and its shareholders would acquire 36 per cent of the New Delhi-based operator. Bharti said at the time the value of the deal may exceed $23 billion.