Bharti Airtel, Tata Group in Talks to Merge DTH Businesses

27 Feb 2025 , 11:46 AM

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday stated it is in talks with Tata Group for the merger of Tata Play’s direct-to-home (DTH) business with its operating arm Bharti Telemedia Ltd. The deal will likely be a share-swap, media reports said.

Airtel said in a regulatory filing that discussions are still at the “discussions” stage and no decision has been taken so far. If the merger goes through, Bharti Airtel will reportedly own 52-55% in the new entity, whereas the existing shareholders in Tata Play will hold 45-48%, including Tata Sons and Walt Disney. That gives the merged entity a revenue-based valuation of about ₹7,000 crore for FY24.

With 35 million subscribers between the two, the merger will cement Airtel’s and Tata Play’s position in the DTH segment. The yet to be formed entity will be headed by senior Airtel management, while Tata is expected to retain two board seats based on a non-binding understanding. Walt Disney’s interest in the combined company is likely to remain the same.

As part of the deal, Airtel would also be able to consolidate its non-mobile revenue streams by offering all the three services of telecom broadband and DTH in a single subscription package. The merger could also provide Airtel with access to Tata Play’s broad network, which currently serves 19 million homes and has about 500,000 broadband customers.

Estimated valuations in terms of the market suggest that Airtel Digital TV’s and Tata Play’s DTH businesses are each worth ₹6,000-7,000 crore. Tata Play, previously Tata Sky, is a joint venture between Tata Sons and 21st Century Fox launched in 2004. Fox’s stake was bought by The Walt Disney Company in March 2019, and the brand was renamed Tata Play in 2022.