New Delhi: Amazon.com, the American multinational conglomerate technology company, is planning to buy a stake worth $2 billion in mobile operator Bharti Airtel, India’s third largest telecom company.
three people with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters, in a move that could turbocharge India’s digital economy.
Though the talks between the two companies are in early stages, if the investment materialises, it would give Amazon around 5 per cent stake, based on the current market value of Bharti, according to a The Hindu report.
If talks to buy a stake fail, the companies could also look at a commercial transaction that could give Bharti’s customers cheap access to Amazon products, sources said.
Amazon spokesperson was non-committal on the deal saying the company “does not offer comments on speculation of what we may or may not do in future.”
However, discussions between Amazon and Bharti underscore the attraction of India’s digital economy for US tech giants. India’s number one telecom player, Jio, the digital arm of Reliance Industries, has raised $10 billion from global investors including Facebook.
A deal with Bharti could help e-commerce major Amazon expand offerings via its smart speakers and also boost its cloud business. Jio has already partnered with Microsoft for use of its Azure cloud platform.
