Bharti Airtel founder Sunil Mittal in talks to buy stake in Haier India
Mumbai: Billionaire-founder of telecom Bharti Airtel, Sunil Mittal, is in advanced talks to acquire a 49% stake in the Indian unit of China’s Haier Smart Home Co., Bloomberg reported.
According to the report, Mittal is planning to make inroads into the Indian home appliance market amid growing demand in the country.
The Bharti Airtel Ltd. founder has hired private equity firm Warburg Pincus to acquire the stake in Haier Appliances (India) Pvt. for about $2 billion, the people report said, citing sources who requested anonymity.
A deal is likely in a few weeks, subject to approvals, sources said.
Discussions are underway, and buyers can change, while Haier may decide not to sell.
India’s Economic Times reported in October that Haier was exploring the sale of a 25% to 49% stake in its unit.
By the following month, early interest had emerged from potential investors, including Temasek Holdings Pte, GIC Pte, and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co., according to sources cited by Bloomberg News.
Haier's revenue in South Asia jumped over 30% year-on-year in the first quarter, driven in part by its side-by-side refrigerators, which captured a 21% share of the Indian market, the company disclosed in a filing dated April 29.
Mittal and his family are worth $28 billion, based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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