Bharti Airtel on Tuesday withdrew the scheme of arrangement for the new corporate structure announced in April last year, stating that it believes that the existing structure is optimal for leveraging emerging opportunities.
“The board of directors (“board”) of Airtel is of the view that the existing corporate structure of the company is, therefore, optimal for leveraging these emerging opportunities and unlocking value while continuing to scale up Airtel’s digital businesses. Therefore, the scheme of arrangement for the new corporate structure announced on April 14, 2021 stands withdrawn,” it said in a statement.
It added that the telecom sector reforms package announced by the government has significantly boosted the outlook and investor confidence for the industry while simplifying the licence framework. “With a strong balance sheet and 5G ready network, Bharti Airtel is well positioned to invest aggressively in the emerging growth opportunities offered by India’s digital economy,” it added.
The company had last year said that under the new structure aimed at sharpened focus on digital, Airtel Digital Ltd. would fold into the listed entity, Bharti Airtel, which would house all of the digital assets spanning Wynk Music, Airtel X stream, Airtel Thanks, Airtel Ads, Airtel Secure, Airtel Cloud etc. It had intended to house all telecom businesses in a newly created entity, Airtel Ltd. — a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Ltd.
On Tuesday, the company said, under a modified scheme, the company will merge its wholly owned subsidiary Telesonic Networks Limited, resulting in consolidation of its fibre assets into Airtel. Further, Nettle Infrastructure Investments Limited will also be merged with Airtel. The company will also pursue its plan to eventually fold the DTH business (Bharti Telemedia) into Airtel.