Categories: Business

Google’s proposed equity acquisition of Bharti Airtel approved by CCI

In an investment agreement (IA) signed by Google and Airtel, the buyer offers to buy a 1.28 percent minority and non-controlling part in the company’s equity share capital. The roughly $1 billion for 1.28 percent investment in Bharti Airtel by Google was approved by the Indian Competition Commission. The proposed merger was accepted by the CCI based on the Acquirer’s amendments (Google International LLC).

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In accordance with the terms of the Investment Agreement (IA) signed by Google and Airtel, the Acquirer is planning to buy a 1.28 percent minority and non-controlling holding in the equity share capital.
Along with the IA, the acquirer and the target have also made several business arrangements through their affiliates.
The companies also want to enter into a few other commercial agreements in the future, the authority stated.
In January of this year, Google announced that it would invest up to $1 billion in Bharti Airtel, India’s No. 2 supplier of telecom services, with a 1.28 percent stock purchase for $700 million and a $300 million commercial agreement over the course of five years.
As part of the Google for India Digitization Fund, the internet search engine already invested $4.5 billion in Reliance Jio in July 2020, making it an investor in two competing telecom service companies.
As part of Google’s investment in Jio last year, JioNext, a low-cost smartphone, has already been launched in partnership with Reliance Jio. JioNext runs an optimised version of the Android operating system. The holding company of Reliance Jio, Jio Platforms, also acquired a $5.7 billion investment for a 9.99 percent ownership from Facebook, now Meta.