Airtel Ends Merger Talks With Tata Group

In a recent development, Bharti Airtel and Tata Group have mutually decided to call off merger talks regarding their Direct-To-Home (DTH) businesses, Airtel Digital TV and Tata Play. Initiated in February 2025, the discussions aimed to consolidate these loss-making units through a share swap, which would have increased Bharti Airtel's stake to over 50% in the merged entity, leveraging business convergence to fortify its non-mobile revenue stream. A successful merger would have marked the second major DTH consolidation in India following the Dish TV-Videocon d2H merger in 2016. Valuations for Tata Play and Airtel Digital TV were drawn between Rs 6,000 to 7,000 crore. Tata Play, holding dominance as India's largest DTH player, experienced a valuation dip to $1 billion post the pandemic, a significant decline from its earlier $3 billion worth. Bharti Airtel, through this merger, sought to establish a strategic foothold similar to competitors like JioStar, the recently formed media giant post the Reliance Industries-Walt Disney consensus. Despite ambitious plans, both entities ultimately couldn't settle on a satisfying conclusion, leading to the termination of the proposed merger.