India's largest mobile phone company, Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd, said on Saturday it had bought Swedish firm Telia A.B.'s 26 per cent stake in one of its local subsidiaries for approximately $59 million.
New Delhi-based Bharti, 16 per cent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, said in a statement the buyout will give it full ownership of Bharti Mobile Ltd, which offers services in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.
The buyout comes a day after cellphone giant Vodafone Group Plc announced the sale of its 20.76 per cent stake in a regional mobile phone company because it did not have a strong enough position in the firm.
India's telecom market is divided into 22 circles. The Bharti group offers mobile phone services in 15 of them.
Bharti said it now has full ownership of all its operating companies except for a 4.7 per cent stake in its Madras unit.
The group has a 24 per cent share of India's mobile phone market. The country is estimated to have 13.5 million users, a number that is forecast to expand to 120 million by 2008.
Bharti Mobile has 1.2 million users across the three circles it operates in and is a leader in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.