Bharti Airtel acquires 97.1% stake in Beetel Teletech for Rs 669 crore

Gurugram-based Bharti Airtel Services is set to acquire 97.1 per cent of Beetel Teletech for Rs 669 crore. The move comes as a part of a group restructuring, which will result in Beetel becoming a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Services.

“As a part of group restructuring, Bharti Airtel Services Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary company of Bharti Airtel Limited has entered into an agreement for acquisition of 49,45,239 equity shares representing 97.1 per cent stake in another Bharti Group company, Beetel Teletech Limited,” the statement read.

The arms-length transaction for over 49 lakh equity shares of the landline phones supplier and manufacturer has a mutual deadline for completion, which has not been disclosed.

Outlining the objective of the acquisition, Airtel said it is part of the company’s strategy to enable indigenisation initiatives within its own ecosystem of telecom products in line with the Government's policy of 'Make In India.'

The development will also add distribution and service capabilities, including system integration, largely for the enterprise business, the telco said in a statement.

Notably, Beetel entered a joint venture with homegrown consumer durables company Dixon Technologies in 2021, with share transfer done as per the 51:49 arrangement in 2022.

“Beetel Teletech Limited …also has 49 per cent stake in Joint Venture having two manufacturing facilities which produce telecom and networking products including those qualifying for Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme,” the company statement read.

The Dixon-Beetel JV, including Dixon, Beetel Teletech Limited, and Dixon Electro Appliances Private Limited (JV Company) has two facilities for the manufacturing of landlines, telecom and networking products including products that are manufactured in compliance with the ‘Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme to promote the manufacturing of telecom and networking products manufacturing in India, as notified by the Ministry of Communications.

Incorporated in 1999, Beetel Teletech is engaged in designing and delivering technical solutions and services and distributing a wide range of products from IT peripherals, network and enterprise solutions to fixed landlines and mobile accessories.

The company has in-house technical strengths, relationships with global OEMs and channels composed of partners, distributors and retailers, including Avaya, HP/Poly, Samsung, Siemens, QSC, RADWIN, Ruckus, RAD, ADVA, and Actelis.

The company shares were trading 3.22 per cent lower at Rs 617.65, as of 9.17 am.