Dish, Airtel DTH finalising merger plan
July 23, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Two of India’s giant DTH operators, India’s Dish TV and Bharti’s Airtel DTH, are in the final stages of plotting their merger. Also involved in the plan is Singapore’s Singtel and private equity investment house Warberg Pincus.
Reportedly, the merger will see Airtel DTH employ a reverse merger into Dish TV. The merger discussions have been on-going for the past few months.
Bharti Airtel DTH, along with Singtel and Warburg Pincus, will acquire the 61 percent of Dish TV held by Essel Group, Subhas Chandra and his family members. Upon completion Chandra and his family will reportedly completely exit the business.
At that stage the combined DTH business will be the largest in India with significant synergies possible. The combined business will control more than 60 per cent of the DTH market. As at December 2018 Dish held 23.6 million subs, while Airtel DTH had some 15 million subs.