Bharti eyes Telia stake in mobile firm

NEW DELHI: Bharti Enterprises is in talks to buy a 26 per cent stake owned by

Sweden's biggest telecoms operator, Telia, in one of its mobile companies,

Bharti Mobile, a source close to the talks said on Wednesday.

"Both sides have exchanged proposals. But a deal is still some time away

as there's still no common ground," the source told Reuters.

If the deal goes through, it will be the third time this year the New

Delhi-based unlisted group would have bought out foreign partners from its

operating firms.

In June, Bharti bought a 44 percent stake held by British Telecom in Bharti

Cellular, a mobile phone operator in the Indian capital, for around 120 million

pounds.

In September, it bought 24.5 per cent stakes held each by Luxembourg-based

Millicom and Atlanta-based BellSouth International in SkyCell Ltd., a mobile

phone operator in the southern city of Chennai for around $21.5 million each.

(C) Reuters Limited.