Intel to pick up 20% in Bharti Telespatiale for $10 million
Bharti BT
bhartibt.com
Bharti BT Internet
bhartibtinternet.com
Mantra Online
mantraonline.com
Veeshal Bakshi & Siddharth Zarabi (FE)
New Delhi, Nov 8: Intel, the world's largest chip manufacturer will invest$10 million for a 20 per cent equity stake in Bharti Telespatiale Ltd, theholding company for the Bharti group's V-Sat and Internet joint ventureswith British Telecom.
Sources said that Intel's proposal has been cleared by the government lastweek. When contacted Bharti Enterprises chairman & managing director Sunil Mittal confirmed this and said that with the approval coming through, talkswould be held with Intel to work out the exact details of the investmentplan.
"We will sit with them and finalise the time frame of the inflow and otherissues like whether the entire sum will be brought in at one go or intranches, he said. The sum of Rs 43 crore has been earmarked for promoting the Internet and V-Sat business, he added.
With this the stake of Bharti Telecom, the holding company of Bharti Telespatiale will come down to 80 per cent. Bharti Telespatiale holds a 51per cent stake in Bharti BT Internet Ltd (BBIL) an Internet company, andBharti VSAT, the Rs 25-crore V-Sat venture.
This is the second major foreign investment deal that Sunil Mittal hasclinched this year. Earlier this year, US-based investment major Warburg Pincus picked up a 20 per cent stake for $80 million in Bharti Televentures,the telecom services arm of the group.
Mittal added that till now, 5 per cent of the Warburg Pincus investment had been called in.
"We will bring in the necessary funds at the appropriate time based on ouractual requirements," he added.
Bharti BT Internet has launched its services under the brand name Mantra-online some time back. The company has major plans to expand its Internet business in the country and consolidate market share.BBIL is slated to launching services in five more cities Calcutta, Chennai,Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad and also appoint franchises in other Indiancities.
Intel's focus on the Internet market has gained momentum after the launchof the Pentium-III range of processors aimed in part at the burgeoningInternet market in the country. |
