Tata group pays Rs 50k-cr of dues to complete sale of telco unit to Airtel

Tata group paid lenders and the government about Rs 50,000 crore ($7.3 billion) to help complete the sale of its mobile-phone services business to Bharti Airtel Ltd., a deal that was announced almost two years ago.

Tata Sons Pvt., the group holding company, paid the Department of Telecommunications Rs 10,000 crore late last month, days after settling all pending loans worth Rs 40,000 crore owed by unit Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, the Mumbai-based group said.

“All debt obligations of the consumer mobile business of Tata Teleservices have been repaid as per schedule,” a Tata Group spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.