Airtel confirms talks with Tata grp on DTH biz merger

Bharti Airtel, on Wednesday, confirmed "bilateral discussions" with Tata Group for a possible merger of their direct-to-home (DTH) segments, Bharti Telemedia and Tata Play.

- ROSHNI SHEKHAR

"We wish to submit that Bharti Airtel and Tata Group are in bilateral discussions to explore a potential transaction to achieve a combination of Tata Group's DTH business housed under Tata Play with Bharti Telemedia, a subsidiary of Airtel, in a structure acceptable to all parties," Bharti Airtel said in a stock exchange filing.

Emails sent to Bharti Airtel and Tata Play regarding the possible structure of the merged entity, did not elicit a response.

This comes as India's DTH industry struggles to retain its subscriber base, with a decline in revenue due to a shift in consumer preferences towards more flexible digital content options.