iWorld
Bharti Airtel restructures to focus on digital assets
NEW DELHI: Telecom giant Bharti Airtel has tweaked its corporate structure in a bid to sharpen its focus on digital opportunities while enabling it to unlock value.
Under the new structure, Airtel Digital will merge with the listed entity Bharti Airtel, and it will now house all digital assets of the company including Wynk Music, Airtel X stream, Airtel Thanks, Mitra Payments platform used by a million retailers, Airtel Ads, Airtel IQ, Airtel Secure, Airtel Cloud and all future digital products and services.
The move is expected to be instrumental in attracting strategic and financial investors as well as scale up the digital business. With this, the company has set its sights on ramping up digital business revenue to more than Rs 1,000 crore from Rs 100 crore now.
From now, the telecom business of the company will be housed in a new entity, Airtel Limited – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Ltd. Bharti Telemedia, the arm operating DTH services of the company, will be housed alongside Airtel Limited.
On the other hand, Airtel Payments Bank will remain a separate entity under Bharti Airtel. The conglomerate’s infrastructure businesses that include Nxtra and Indus Towers will continue to remain separate entities as they are now.
"The new structure sets the exciting future course for Bharti Airtel and provides focus on the four distinct businesses – digital, India, international and infrastructure, each, in a razor-sharp way,” said Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal in a statement. “We believe this will provide agility, expertise, and operational rigour to serve our customers brilliantly while providing flexibility to unlock value for our shareholders. This structure will serve us well over the coming years and is a win-win for all stakeholders."
The statement from Airtel revealed that the company is intending to "eventually fold the DTH business into Airtel Limited to move towards the NDCP vision of converged services to customers."
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Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square makes $64 billion bid to acquire Universal Music Group
Ackman pitches NYSE relisting plan as UMG board weighs unsolicited offer
The hedge fund has proposed a business combination that values UMG at €30.40 per share, representing a hefty 78 per cent premium to its current trading price. The offer includes €9.4 billion in cash alongside stock in a newly formed entity, with shareholders set to receive €5.05 per share in cash and 0.77 shares in the new company for each UMG share they hold.
Under the proposal, UMG would merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings Ltd and re-emerge as a Nevada-based entity listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The move is designed to boost investor visibility and potentially secure inclusion in major indices such as the S&P 500.
Pershing Square Capital Management ceo Bill Ackman argued that while UMG’s operational performance remains strong, its market valuation has lagged due to external factors. “UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business,” Ackman said, pointing to concerns ranging from shareholder overhang to delayed US listing plans.
Ackman also flagged what he sees as untapped potential in UMG’s balance sheet and a lack of clear capital allocation strategy. He added that the market has not fully recognised the value of UMG’s €2.7 billion stake in Spotify, alongside gaps in investor communication.
The proposed transaction would also result in the cancellation of around 17 per cent of UMG’s outstanding shares, while maintaining its investment-grade balance sheet. Pershing Square has said it will fully backstop the equity financing, with debt commitments secured at signing. The deal is targeted for completion by the end of the year.
UMG, however, has struck a measured tone. The company confirmed that its board has received the non-binding proposal and will review it with advisers. It reiterated confidence in its current strategy and leadership under Lucian Grainge, signalling no immediate shift in stance.
The proposal comes at a time when global music companies are navigating evolving investor expectations, streaming economics and capital allocation pressures. For Pershing Square, the bet is clear: sharpen the financial story, relist in the US, and let the music play louder in the markets.
Whether UMG’s board is ready to change the tune remains to be seen, but the spotlight on its valuation just got a lot brighter.
