Airtel-Tata tele merger: TDSAT stays DoT call for Rs 9k crore guarantees

MUMBAI: An appellate tribunal has stayed the telecom department’s demand for dues of over Rs 9,000 crore from Bharti Airtel as a precondition for approving its acquisition of Tata Teleservices’ consumer mobility division, and directed that the deal be cleared, paving the way for the closure of the sector’s last major M&A pact 18 months after it was announced.

“…we direct the concerned authorities of the Union of India to take the merger of the two companies and the license on record…,” the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) ruled in an interim order on Thursday.