Bharti Airtel plans To Acquire Tata Play

As per the reports, Sunil Mittal-owned Bharti-Airtel is expected to acquire Tata Play at a valuation similar to that of the Temasek deal. The original plan was to consolidate the Tata stakes and pursue an IPO, with documents filed in 2022. However, Tata suspended the listing plan in August.

Now, the acquisition aims to strengthen Airtel's presence in the struggling digital TV segment and enhance its bundled offerings, ultimately boosting non-mobile revenues through convergence. Also, If the acquisition succeeds, it will represent Tata’s exit from its underperforming content and entertainment operations.

The move by Tata Group to offload Tata Play from its basket of businesses is mainly due to continuous losses incurred. According to the company’s statement, the losses widened from Rs.105.25 crore in FY23 to Rs.353.8 crore in FY24. Moreover, revenue also declined from Rs.4,240.04 crore in FY23 to Rs.3,982.57 crore in FY24.

This would be the second agreement between the two business groups, following Bharti’s acquisition of Tata’s struggling consumer mobility business in 2017, which was integrated two years later.