Bharti promoter group hikes stake to 6.53 p.c

NEW DELHI, INDIA: A company owned by the founders of Bharti Airtel Ltd has increased its stake in India's top mobile operator by quarter of a percent, according to a regulatory filing.

Indian Continent Investment Ltd, which earlier owned 6.27 percent of Bharti, paid Rs 402 crore ($84 million) in two separate off-market transactions to pick up 0.256 percent more on Wednesday, Bharti said in the filing.

Bharti and South Africa's MTN are in exclusive merger talks to create a major emerging markets telecoms group.

Founders and their associates owned 67.15 percent in Bharti Airtel at the end of March, according to the latest stock exchange data available.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)