DoT Asks Registrar Of Companies To Put Airtel-Tata Tele Merger On Hold

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to put the Bharti Airtel-Tata Teleservices (TTSL) merger on hold as it is yet to grant its approval for the same, reports The Times of India.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

Bharti Airtel and TTSL had in 2017 announced the merger of their consumer business. On July 1, both companies said the merger is complete.

The transaction between TTSL and Bharti Airtel was done on a no-cash, no-debt basis. TTSL had also written off debt worth Rs 30,000 crore before the deal.

The Telecom Ministry too said it will challenge the merger in the Supreme Court as the companies went ahead with the merger based on an order by the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

“Both parties have operationalised the merger following the TDSAT’s order directing DoT to take the merger on record and approval of the schemes of arrangement by NCLT, Delhi and NCLT, Mumbai,” the article quotes a Bharti Airtel spokesperson as saying.

“DoT was duly notified of the same. RoC has also taken the merger on record. Needless to say, Bharti Airtel adheres to the highest standards of corporate governance and compliance,” the spokesperson added.―Money Control