International Businesses

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES

Chennai - India

By Name MAHESH SURANA. M 08CN27 KAJAL KUMAR BISWASRAY 08CN20 UDAYAN. G 08CN48 RAJASEKAR RAMESH. P. P 08CN38 Course:- PGDM Year:-2008 – 2009

Roll No.

08CN36

Chennai - India

Declaration We declare that this project report titled BHARTI AIRTEL AND MTN DEAL has been compiled by us. COURSE:- PGDM Year:- 2008-2009 Name of Students MAHESH SURANA. M

(08CN27)

KAJAL KUMAR BISWASRAY (08CN20) UDAYAN. G RAJASEKAR RAMESH. P. P

(08CN48) (08CN36) (08CN38)

Chennai - India

Certificate This project report entitled

Submitted has satisfactorily completed By MAHESH SURANA. M KAJAL KUMAR BISWASRAY UDAYAN. G RAJASEKAR RAMESH. P. P

MTN –GLOBALIZATION VEHICLE FOR INDIAN TELECOMS

The Indian telecom sector is not only one of the fastest growing markets in the world, but is also very attractive in terms of profitability. The market is currently in a stage of ‘growth,’ whereas other global markets like those in the US, Europe and Japan have already reached maturity. The competitive intensity in the Indian Telecom market is very high. Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication (RCom) and Vodafone are key players fighting for market share. More recently, Indian companies, in addition to their focus on domestic markets, have also started looking into other attractive emerging markets, as in the African continent. Given the interest of Indian telecom companies in the African continent, the interest of Airtel and Rcom in MTN has not come as a surprise. MTN is a major communications company – in fact, Africa’s biggest phone company – with networks in 21 countries in that continent. Listed in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, MTN Group operates two primary business divisions: MTN-SA catering to the South African market and MTN International which looks into its international telecom investments. MTN Group operates three business divisions: MTN-SA (South Africa), MTN International, and Strategic Investments. This acquisition would give the Indian telecom access to 21 countries in Africa and Middle East countries.

BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED

Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is India’s leading integrated telecom services provider with an aggregate of 64.26 million customers as of end of March 2008, consisting of 61.98 million mobile customers. Bharti Airtel has been rated among the best performing companies in the world in the Business Week IT 100 list 2007. Bharti Airtel is structured into three strategic business units - Mobile services, Telemedia services and Enterprise services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles. The Telemedia business provides broadband and telephone services in 94 cities and is foraying into the IPTV and DTH segments. The Enterprise services business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. Airtel’s high-speed optic-fibre network currently spans over 73,787 kms covering all the major cities in the country. The company has two international landing stations in Chennai that connects two submarine cable systems - i2i to Singapore and SEA-ME-WE-4 to Europe. The major competitors for Bharti Airtel are Reliance Communications, Vodafone, BSNL and Aditya Birla group Owned IDEA.

MTN

MTN Group is a South Africa-based multinational mobile telecommunications company, operating in many African and Middle Eastern countries is a global communications partner and world-class cellular network in the African continent. As a major communications company, MTN is focused on the African continent. MTN believes that through access to communication comes economic empowerment. The MTN Group operates three business divisions: MTN-SA (South Africa), MTN International, and Strategic Investments. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange under the Telecommunications Service Sector (which falls under the Industrial NonCyclical Services). MTN had aggressively built its assets in the past six years by acquiring and winning licenses in poorly-penetrated countries on the continent. But it was its acquisition of Investcom two years ago which quickly gave it access to 10 more countries including Afghanistan, Yemen and Ghana. It operates cell phone systems in Africa and the Middle East, could be worth more than $40 billion in its entirety, according to bankers and analysts. MTN with 68.2 million users has a market cap is USD 36 billion, while its EV is USD 42 billion. It is the largest telecom operator in subSaharan Africa and operates in 21 countries.

BHARTI AIRTEL IN TALKS WITH SOUTH AFRICAN TELECOM GIANT MTN

According to Eleni Giokos of CNBC-Africa, the bidding war for MTN has begun at least in rumour. Investors are braced for a bidding war over MTN, Africa's largest mobile group, after it entered takeover talks with Bharti Airtel, its Indian peer. It is understood that Bharti is willing to acquire a majority stake in MTN at a price that would value the South Africa-based firm at about $37 billion (£18.5 billion). Sources close to Bharti said that "two or three" deal combinations are being discussed. If successful, the acquisition would transform India's biggest mobile company into an international colossus with footholds in a host of emerging markets across Africa and the Middle East. It would also be the largest takeover of a foreign firm by an Indian group. MTN has about 68 million subscribers in 21 countries, compared with Bharti's 62 million in India. Bharti has indicated it would be willing to pay about $19 billion for 51% of the company. That would make it the heftiest overseas acquisition ever made by an Indian firm, more than Tata Steel paid for Corus, a British steelmaker, and seven times the amount India invested in the whole of Africa over the ten years to 2004. The deal would unite the leading companies in the world’s two most promising mobile markets. Bharti Airtel has made a $19bn bid for control of Johannesburg-listed MTN at about R165 a share, which would value the South African company’s entire equity at around $37bn. Airtel has already secured $12bn of financing from Goldman Sachs and Standard

Chartered Bank. The two investment banks have each pledged to underwrite $6 billions of the amount that Bharti will need to purchase the controlling stake. Bharti is expected to fund the balance with an issue of equity, either directly to MTN shareholders or to institutions. South Africa's largest mobile telecommunications operator, MTN, is proving to be hotter than any telecoms play one might find in the fast-growing markets in India and China. Along with Bharti Airtel, the lineups of its suitors over recent years have been China Mobile, Vodafone, and Telkom South Africa. Another Indian suitor has entered the picture, Reliance Telecommunications.

SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE Billionaire Sunil Mittal, the founder of Bharti Airtel, plans to set up a separate company in partnership with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) that will be the vehicle for acquisition of the South Africa-based MTN Group. The special purpose vehicle (SPV) will raise funds, including bridge loans. The company will later explore the option of selling American depository receipts (ADRs) or global depository receipts (GDRs) to repay the bridge loan. Indian firms, including Tata Steel, in the past have formed SPVs to acquire foreign companies to protect local operations and also to avoid legal hindrances. The move to float an SPV will help Bharti Airtel to continue being listed on Indian stock exchanges, while MTN's promoters will be given a stake in the SPV. The quantum of the stake will depend on the cash-share ratio, which is yet to be finalized between Bharti and MTN. Bharti Airtel would raise funds by diluting the equity of the SPV and, if needed,

the promoters' stake in Bharti and that of its partner SingTel to part-finance the deal. Thus, the SPV will be a subsidiary of Bharti Telecom and a stake in it will be offered to MTN promoters. Bharti Telecom owns a 45.31 per cent in Bharti Airtel, of which the Mittal family holds around 26 per cent. The MTN management holds over 13.3 per cent in MTN through Newshelf664. Lebanon's Mikati family owns 9.8 per cent stake.

The Merger Matrix According to a report, around $20 billion of the total acquisition value (which is estimated at $45 billion) will be in cash, which Bharti will raise through a combination of debt and internal accruals. The remaining amount of about $25 billion will be paid in Bharti stock. This would mean Bharti will have to float a GDR or ADR or most likely get listed in South Africa for the deal to go through. The $25 billion worth of fresh equity can be used for share swap with large MTN shareholders such as the Alpine Trust and South African pension fund PIC. This will result in MTN shareholders holding on to the fresh equity in Bharti Airtel. MTN shareholders may end up holding 38% in the combined entity. The combined entity will be called MTN-Airtel. Sunil Bharti Mittal will be the non-executive chairman while Phuthuma Nhleko will be the CEO of the new entity. The final shareholding structure of the Bharti-MTN combine will be as follows — Sunil Mittal with 15 per cent stake, SingTel about 19 per cent by virtue of its holding in Bharti Airtel, South African shareholders with about 36 per cent, while the

rest will be with the public. Such equity holding structures are very common internationally where the actual promoters hold minority stakes themselves.

PEST ANALYSIS – POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL & TECHNOLOGY •

Political It would be the biggest thing to pass between India and South Africa since Mahatma Gandhi moved from one country to the other. India is adding more subscribers per month than any other country. In Africa, subscriptions are projected to grow by 11% a year until 2011, according to Gartner, a research firm. India added over 10m mobile-phone subscribers in March alone, taking

it past America, by some estimates, to become the second-biggest mobile market in the world. Bharti itself signed up 6.8m subscribers in the first three months of this year. It believes it has learned some tricks of the trade that would work similar wonders in Africa. MTN have been serving similar circles of Africa as that of Bharti Airtel in India. Penetration rates are similar in many African countries and revenue per user equally low. To succeed, a company has to expand its subscriber base cheaply and quickly, making money on small upfront payments of a few minutes at a time. This is Bharti’s specialty. Flush with this domestic success, Bharti has for years been harboring international ambitions that extend far beyond its modest ventures in the Seychelles, Guernsey and Jersey. It is one of a new breed of Indian firms that are graduating to globalization. As India has opened its domestic markets, a few of its companies, steeled by competition at home, have become productive enough to compete abroad. Outbound FDI from India has increased from negligible amounts a few years ago to almost $4 billion in the last quarter of 2007.

Indians will celebrate if Bharti Airtel Ltd and South African telecom operator MTN Group strike a deal, Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar told a large gathering of investors in India. This implies that this deal was of national importance. Indian companies are now firmly established on the world stage, and the Bharti-MTN talks are only the latest example of this. This merger would create the world’s sixth largest mobile operator with more than 130 million subscribers in nearly 2 dozens countries. •

Economic India's commerce and industry minister, Kamal Nath, said in a conference held in New York,” We support Indian acquisitions of companies, and we certainly support this. We are happy that India is not merely looking for foreign direct investments; we are investors

ourselves." While new foreign investment in Africa has been dominated in recent years by China, Indian companies and politicians are also trying to increase their presence there. In April, Indian officials played host to a trade meeting in New Delhi for African leaders. African telecoms are attracting attention from global investors because of the relatively low numbers of fixed-line phones and the fast-growing number of mobile subscribers. Mittal’s scheme seems to be to create a special acquisition vehicle with Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, his existing partner, and use judicious amounts of leverage. Details of how this would work are scarce. But it seems that the new company would effectively buy its South African rival, but leave existing shareholders with a minority stake. That would enable MTN to retain its politically sensitive Johannesburg listing, and

satisfy the country’s Black Economic Empowerment programme, which requires up to quarter of share capital be given to the nation’s black citizens. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Mittal’s Indian telecom business, would probably not be merged with MTN. That would avoid potential problems with India’s foreign investment rules, which require local telecom companies to be 74% Indian-owned. Mittal could still extract synergies from simply getting Bharti Airtel and MTN to work together. •

Social

A tie-up between Bharti Airtel and MTN would have created the world's sixth-largest mobile phone operator with more than 130 million subscribers. Shares of Bharti Airtel had declined 5.29% to Rs 846.60 on 6 May 2008 on uncertainty about the impact of such a large acquisition (if it fructifies) on its balance sheet, after the company said it was in exploratory talks for a stake in South African telecom operator MTN Group. Bharti Airtel and MTN provide a complete range of telecom services including mobile and fixed line telephony. This includes broadband, national and international long distance services and data services along with an exhaustive range of value-added services and applications. MTN has 68 million customers and its market capitalization is estimated at $38 billion in the South African stock exchanges. Bharti has around 65 million customers and its market capitalization is estimated at $34 billion in the Indian stock exchanges. Bharti is keen to expand and be a multinational telecoms giant. Funding offers of $60 billion during the MTN talks show financing should not be a problem. Bharti Airtel Limited firmly believes in the principles of Corporate Governance and is committed to conduct its business in a manner, which will ensure sustainable, capitalefficient and long-term growth thereby maximizing value for its shareholders, customers,

employees and society at large. Company’s policies are in line with Corporate Governance guidelines prescribed under Listing Agreement/s with Stock Exchanges and the Company ensures that various disclosures requirements are complied in ‘letter and spirit’ for effective Corporate Governance. .Bharti Airtel was assigned highest Governance and Value Creation rating viz. ‘Level 1’ rating by CRISIL. •

Technology Bharti Airtel has taken outsourcing all the way. The company has outsourced maintenance and expansion of its telecom network to Ericsson. Its entire IT operation has gone to IBM. And its customer service call centers have been handed over to several companies, including

EmphasiS and IBM Daksh. Bharti Airtel has done an excellent job of defining customer acquisition and growth as its core competence, and outsourcing everything else, including its network and its IT. This strategy befits the current Indian mobile market as another 200 million to 250 million consumers are up for grabs in the next five years. However, it’s doubtful if these techniques for driving profitability could work for Western corporations. It is not easy to do for legacy global corporations, as it requires sophisticated vendor management skills and innovative revenue-sharing contracts with key partners. It is certainly a factor in keeping costs low and, at the same time, accelerating growth. This deal would give Bharti Airtel control over MTN technologies. Instead of going for new technologies to gain market share, Bharti Airtel could have used MTN’s available technologies and hence avoiding excess expenditure on technology. It could have used its 3G technology and other technologies to support the latest mobile

phones edition like iPhones. Cost-sharing, co-branding, marketing, operations (existing and new), human resource sharing and employee relocation to other countries, among others, would also be conducted through the SPV. As equipment and software purchases are huge for telecom companies, the merger would give joint bargaining power to Bharti.

COMPETITION AND NEW ENTRANTS In spite of being a market leader, Bharti Airtel faces lot of competition in the domestic market from few other telecom companies

like Reliance communications,

Vodafone, BSNL,. All of these companies try to get the best out of the market by providing better facilities at a better price than the other service provider. Service providers even provide additional services like GPRS, MMS, missed calls alerts, email synchronization, etc,. Bharti Airtel initiated low cost calls all over India at a very nominal cost. It reduced the roaming charges to Re.1\min. This is because of very competitive market and competitors give a tight reply to the price and service effective strategies adopted by Bharti Airtel. New entrants are also the reason for the globalization. TRAI has provided license to many of the new telecom companies to provide services in various circles. New entrants like Spice communications, IDEA, TATA Indicom are already giving stiff competition in various circle in which they are operating. The customers being the main focus in the area of telecom, they have been taken into consideration during formation of any strategy. Bargaining power of the customers has been increased very much. Low cost strategy is the result of this increase.

SWOT ANALYSIS

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Strengths  Bharti Airtel has more than 65 million customers (July 2008). It is the largest cellular provider in India, and also supplies broadband and telephone services - as well as many other telecommunications services to both domestic and corporate customers.  Other stakeholders in Bharti Airtel include Sony-Ericsson, Nokia and SingTel, with whom they hold a strategic alliance. This means that the business has access to knowledge and technology from other parts of the telecommunications world.  The company has covered the entire Indian nation with its network. This has underpinned its large and rising customer base.

•

Weaknesses  An often cited original weakness is that when the business was started by Sunil Bharti Mittal over 15 years ago, the business has little knowledge and experience of how a cellular telephone system actually worked. So the start-up business had to outsource to industry experts in the field.  Until recently Airtel did not own its own towers, which was a particular strength of some of its competitors such as Hutchison Essar. Towers are important if your company wishes to provide wide coverage nationally.  The fact that the Airtel has not pulled off a deal with South Africa's MTN could signal the lack of any real emerging market investment opportunity for the business once the Indian market has become mature.

•

Opportunities

 The company possesses a customized version of the Google search engine which will enhance broadband services to customers. The tie-up with Google can only enhance the Airtel brand, and also provides advertising opportunities in Indian for Google.  Global telecommunications and new technology brands see Airtel as a key strategic player in the Indian market. The new iPhone will be launched in India via an Airtel distributorship. Another strategic partnership is held with Blackberry Wireless Solutions.  Despite being forced to outsource much of its technical operations in the early days, this allowed Airtel to work from its own blank sheet of paper, and to question industry approaches and practices - for example replacing the Revenue-Per-Customer model with a Revenue-Per-Minute model which is better suited to India, as the company moved into small and remote villages and towns.  The company is investing in its operation in 120,000 to 160,000 small villages every year. It sees that less well-off consumers may only be able to afford a few tens of Rupees per call, and also so that the business benefits are scalable - using its 'Matchbox' strategy.  Bharti Airtel is embarking on another joint venture with Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular to create a new independent tower company called Indus Towers. This new business will control more than 60% of India's network towers. IPTV is another potential new service that could underpin the company's long-term strategy.

•

Threats  Airtel and Vodafone seem to be having an on/off relationship. Vodafone which owned a 5.6% stake in the Airtel business sold it back to Airtel, and instead invested in its rival Hutchison Essar. Knowledge and technology previously available to Airtel now moves into the hands of one of its competitors.  The quickly changing pace of the global telecommunications industry could tempt Airtel to go along the acquisition trail which may make it vulnerable if the world goes into recession. Perhaps this was an impact upon the decision not to proceed with talks about the potential purchase of South Africa's MTN in May 2008. This opened the door for talks between Reliance Communication's Anil Ambani and MTN, allowing a competing Indian

industrialist

to

invest

in

the

new

emerging

African

telecommunications market.  Bharti Airtel could also be the target for the takeover vision of other global telecommunications players that wish to move into the Indian market.

END OF THE DEAL

Bharti ended talks with MTN after failing to agree a structure for a group that would have been the world's sixth-largest mobile operator with over 130 million subscribers. Funding offers of $60 billion during the MTN talks show financing was not a problem. At the invitation of MTN board, Bharti entered into exploratory discussions on the possibility of combining the two 'emerging market' telecom giants. A number of structures were discussed and evaluated between the lead bankers on both sides. An in-principle agreement was reached between the two lead bankers. But, MTN has now presented a completely different structure, from what was agreed. This new structure envisages Bharti Airtel becoming a subsidiary of MTN and exchange of majority shares of Bharti Airtel held by the Bharti family and Singtel, in exchange for a controlling stake in MTN. Bharti believes that this convoluted way of getting an indirect control of the combined entity would have compromised the minority shareholders of Bharti Airtel and also would not capture the synergies of a combined entity. Further and more importantly, Bharti's vision of transforming itself from a home grown Indian company to a true Indian multinational telecom giant,symbolising the pride of India, would have been severely compromised and this was completely unacceptable to Bharti. Bharti Airtel had disengaged from talks with MTN after the South African company had insisted that after the merger, Bharti Airtel should be a subsidiary company of MTN. Key shareholders in Bharti Airtel, such as the Bharti family and Singtel, would in return hold a majority stake in MTN. Bharti remains keen to expand in the International arena and will continue to look at opportunities that are consistent with its vision to be a true Indian company that plays a significant role in transforming global telecommunications.

Bharti called off negotiations after MTN turned Bharti’s takeover plan upside down, proposing to take over Bharti instead. A combination with MTN would have been Bharti Airtel’s first major foray outside India. The two companies have roughly the same number of subscribers and market capitalization, so any deal was expected to be more like a merger of equals, bankers and analysts said. Bharti seems to have been unwilling to cede control of the deal. The lead bankers from Bharti and MTN had agreed to structure the deal so that Bharti Airtel would be the parent company. MTN’s counterproposal would have made Bharti Airtel a subsidiary of MTN but given Bharti’s parent company, Bharti Enterprises, a controlling stake in the combined company, said one Bharti executive briefed on the negotiations. Even though Bharti Enterprises would control the new telecommunications giant, that was not acceptable to Bharti, he said. “Our vision is to become a global Indian telecom,” he said, adding that the collapse of the deal was “really about Indian pride.” The collapse of the deal is likely to be a major blow for Sunil Bharti Mittal, the chairman and managing director of Bharti Airtel, and founder of Bharti Enterprises, an Indian conglomerate with ambitious international plans. It is also likely to take a heavy toll on MTN’s stock price. The company’s shares have traded up more than 16 percent in the past month on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on talk of a deal. Bharti said that more than a dozen bankers from the United States and Europe had given it “confident letters of funding” of over $60 billion. The company said it would continue to look for international expansion opportunities.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS: A SUMMARY BASED ON WHICH THIS REPORT HAS BEEN MADE

1. How did the deal between Bharti Airtel and MTN take off? MTN-Targets •

Completing the final elements to integrate acquisitions that complement our expansion strategy

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Optimising regional synergies and ensuring strategic regional focus through a hub and cluster structure

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Continuing to pursue appropriate expansion opportunities to further diversify earnings and consolidate our position

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Improve operational efficiency through our least-cost operator strategy and explore outsourcing to improve the business model

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Take advantage of money transfer and mobile money opportunities in MTN Group markets.

Because of these challengeable targets, MTN started opening up. MTN wanted to sell off a part of its shares. This deal as discussed earlier started off with a rumor. Investors are braced for a bidding war over MTN, Africa's largest mobile group, after it entered takeover talks with Bharti Airtel, its Indian peer. It is understood that Bharti is willing to acquire a majority stake in MTN at a price that would value the South Africa-based firm at about $37 billion (£18.5 billion). As both MTN and Bharti Airtel served almost the similar circles in African regions and India respectively, Bharti wanted to take over MTN and hence this would enable Bharti Airtel to globalize itself as an Indian Multinational Telecom. Also, Airtel Bharti was looking for a strategy to go international. 2. Why Bharti Airtel wanted to globalize?

Being in a competitive market, Bharti felt the urge to start international venture so as to sustain the competition given by other major telecom players like Vodafone, BSNL and Reliance Communications. And, MTN merger would have opened doors for Bharti Airtel to enter 21 countries in the African continent. Bharti was keen to expand in the International arena and grabbed this at opportunity which seemed to be consistent with its vision to be a true Indian company that plays a significant role in transforming global. 3. What were the opportunities seen by Bharti Airtel in MTN deal? Bharti saw an opportunity to expand in international arena in MTN by merging with MTN. Bharti could have entered 21 circles of Africa. MTN served similar market and customers in Africa to that of Bharti Airtel in India. The low cost services provided by MTN were also the reason for Bharti Airtel to merge with MTN as it would be consistent with the vision of being a true Indian company. 4. How was the merger planned by Bharti Airtel? Sunil Mittal planned to set up a separate company in partnership with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) that will be the vehicle for acquisition of the South Africa-based MTN Group. The special purpose vehicle would raise funds, including bridge loans. The company would later explore the option of selling American depository receipts or global depository receipts to repay the bridge loan, the sources said. Indian firms, including Tata Steel, in the past have formed SPVs to acquire foreign companies to protect local operations and also to avoid legal hindrances. The SPV may be registered in a tax-haven country, like Mauritius or Bahamas. The move to float an SPV would have helped Bharti Airtel to continue being listed on Indian stock exchanges, while MTN's promoters will be given a stake in the SPV. The

quantum of the stake would depend on the cash-share ratio, which is yet to be finalized between Bharti and MTN. Bharti Airtel would raise funds by diluting the equity of the SPV and, if needed, the promoters' stake in Bharti and that of its partner SingTel to partfinance the deal. Airtel may have to go for an open offer -- merger or acquisition of over 35 per cent stake triggers an open offer in South Africa -- and merge the companies' selected businesses into the SPV. As the effective foreign direct investment in Bharti Airtel is about 68 per cent (It should not exceed the 74 per cent limit set by the government), MTN would not be offered a stake in it. However, in Bharti Telecom, the foreign holding is only 42.8 per cent -SingTel holds 32.8 per cent, while Vodafone holds 10 per cent. Thus, the SPV will be a subsidiary of Bharti Telecom and a stake in it will be offered to MTN promoters, said sources. Bharti Telecom owns a 45.31 per cent in Bharti Airtel, of which the Mittal family holds around 26 per cent. 5. Was the deal moving ahead along with the vision of Bharti Airtel? Why did Bharti Airtel move out of the deal? Bharti entered into exploratory discussions on the possibility of combining the two 'emerging market' telecom giants. A number of structures were discussed and evaluated between the lead bankers on both sides. An in-principle agreement was reached between the two lead bankers that Bharti Airtel would be the parent company. But MTN’s counterproposal would have made Airtel a subsidiary of MTN but given Bharti’s parent company, Bharti Enterprises, a controlling stake in the combined company. Even though

Bharti Enterprises would control the new telecommunications giant, which was not acceptable to Bharti because their vision was to become a global Indian telecom.

Bibliography

Websites  http://www.india-server.com/news/bharti-pulls-out-of-mtn-deal-1348.html  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airtel  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTN  http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/50-billion-bharti-airtelmtn-deal-bites-thedust/2008-05-27  www.rediff.com/money/2008/may/08mtn.htm  http://www.indiablogspot.net/india-investment/bharti-airtel-mtn-deal-faceschallenges/  http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/bhartiairtelmtn/bhartimtndealt obefinalised710dayssrcs/market/stocks/article/337981  http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?tp=on&autono=38236  http://www.livemint.com/2008/05/07000423/MTN-deal-not-to-come-easyfor.html?d=1