Airtel was holding discussions with the salt-to-software conglomerate for a merger of Bharti Telemedia, which offers cable and satellite television services, with Tata Play.
New Delhi: Bharti Airtel and Tata Group have called off their merger talks for their direct-to-home (DTH) businesses, Bharti Telemedia and Tata Play. The decision comes after both parties were unable to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Saturday.
‘Mutually decided to terminate the discussions’
“This is in reference to our intimation dated February 26, 2025, wherein the company informed that it is in bilateral discussions with TATA Group to explore a potential combination of TATA Group’s Direct To Home (‘DTH’) business housed under Tata Play Limited with Bharti Telemedia Limited, a subsidiary of the company,” it said.
“In this regard, we wish to inform you that after not being able to find a satisfactory resolution, the parties have mutually decided to terminate the discussions,” Airtel added.
On February 26, Bharti Airtel, led by Sunil Mittal, confirmed it was in discussions with the Tata Group to merge its struggling direct-to-home (DTH) arm, Bharti Telemedia, with Tata Play. The talks aimed to consolidate their cable and satellite TV services, as revealed in an earlier regulatory filing.
“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 Ltd, with Bharti Telemedia, a subsidiary of Airtel, in a structure acceptable to all parties,” the regulatory filing earlier this year said.
The specific details were not shared at that point. If completed, this would have been the second merger in the DTH sector after the Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger in 2016.
(With PTI inputs)
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