Bharti Group says it's keen to seal MTN telecom deal

The Bharti Group, on Saturday, expressed confidence that it will seal the proposed $23-billion deal with South African telecom giant MTN, after restarting negotiations that had collapsed last year.
The two groups are discussing options under which Bharti will acquire 49 per cent stake in MTN and MNT, along with its shareholders, will buy 36 per cent equity in the Indian company, the two firms had announced May 25.
“The talks are on. This time we intend to close the deal,” said Bharti Enterprises Vice Chairman and Managing Director Rajan Bharti Mittal. Funds for the deal will be a mix of debt and internal accruals, Mittal told reporters here.
Bharti Airtel had ended talks with MTN last year, rejecting a proposal that would have made the Indian firm a subsidiary of the South African group. Following that,
MTN started negotiations with the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, which also failed.  Incidentally, both Bharti Airtel and MTN have agreed to discuss the potential transaction exclusively with one another till July 31.  

Bharti Wal-Mart store

Meanwhile, Bharti Wal-Mart, the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which on Saturday opened its first cash-and-carry store here, said it will invest over  Rs 470 crore in setting up 15 more such outlets in next three to four years. The next store is likely by the end of this year.
“Investment in each store will be about US$6-7 million without land and building... I am only talking about the insight of the store,” Rajan Bharti Mittal said.
The joint venture firm according to company officials will open stores initially in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh but later it would spread to other parts of the country.
Further, the cash-and-carry store under the brand name of ‘BestPrice Modern Wholesale’ is offering an assortment of around 6,000 items, including food and non-food items.