Airtel shares soar 11% on Telenor India acquisition

Shares of Bharti Airtel today rose

11 per cent to a one-year high after the telecom operator said

it will acquire the business of Telenor India for an

undisclosed sum in all seven circles where it holds spectrum.

The stock surged 10.93 per cent to Rs 400.65 -- a 52-week

high -- on BSE.

At NSE, shares of the company soared 11 per cent to a one

year peak of Rs 401.

Airtel today said it has "entered into a definitive

agreement with Telenor South Asia Investments Pte Ltd to

acquire Telenor (India) Communications Private Limited."

In a separate statement, the Norwegian multinational

Telenor said that the transaction will not trigger any

impairment. "As of fourth quarter 2016, the remaining value of

tangible and intangible assets in Telenor India amounted to

NOK 0.3 billion. The transaction is expected to close within

12 months," Telenor said.

Airtel is India's largest wireless operator with over 269

million subscribers and a revenue market share of over 33 per

cent.

As the new owner, Airtel will take over Telenor India's

spectrum, licenses and operations, including its employees and

customer base of 44 million.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)