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Bharti buys BT's stakes in two group firms

Unlisted telecoms group Bharti Enterprises said on Thursday it had bought stakes held by British Telecom in two group firms, Bharti BT Internet Ltd and Bharti BT V-SAT.

British Telecom held 49 per cent of Bharti BT Internet, a leading Internet access provider, and 50 per cent of Bharti BT V-SAT, a V-SAT (very small aperture terminals) company.

Bharti declined to reveal financial details of the deal.

British Telecom holds 40 per cent stake in another group firm, Bharti Cellular Ltd, which provides cellular services in New Delhi.

Separately, the group, whose operations span cellular and fixed-line telephony to telecom manufacturing, said it had merged four group firms into one company to help it focus on the broadband networks business.

The firm said in a statement the four companies -- Bharti BT Internet, Bharti BT V-SAT and Bharti Broadband Services together with their holding company Bharti Telespatiale -- were being merged to form Bharti Broadband Networks Ltd.

"The merger reflects the group's recognition of the fast-paced changes in the telecom sector and underscores its effort to put a sharper focus on the broadband market," the statement said.

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