CCI slaps Rs 1 crore penalty on Bharti Airtel

25 Aug 2023 , 12:30 PM

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has levied a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Bharti Airtel for failure to comply with the provisions of Section 6(2) of the Competition Act, 2002. The penalty relates to the company’s acquisition of a stake in Bharti Telemedia from Warbug Pincus subsidiary firm Lion Meadow Investment Limited.

Bharti Airtel stated in its media filing, “We submit that the Competition Commission of India, vide its order dated August 23, 2023, has levied a penalty of Rs 1 crore under section 43A of the Competition Act, 2002.”

The company said that it is in the process of reviewing the order and is considering its next plan of action.

In March 2020, Bharti Airtel purchased back a 20% stake in its DTH arm Bharti Telemedia from Lion Meadow Investment Ltd for an aggregate amount of Rs 3,216 crore. With the proposed transaction, Airtel aligned the shareholding of its customer-facing products, services, and businesses under the same group of companies.

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