iWorld
Bharti Airtel set to acquire Loop for Rs 700 crore
MUMBAI: India’s largest cellular carrier, Bharti Airtel, is set to acquire small mobile operator Loop Mobile for about Rs 300 crore, according to reports. This would be the first merger in six years in an industry long seen as ripe for consolidation.
Loop, which operates only in Mumbai with about three million subscribers, was up for grabs as a potential acquisition as its spectrum licence lapses on 28 November.
If Bharti completes the acquisition it will overtake Vodafone India and become the market leader in terms of customer numbers, although not by revenue in Mumbai – which is one of the biggest cellphone markets in India.
The deal – if it happens – would also see Bharti take on Loop’s debt of nearly Rs 400 crore.
Industry consolidation has been slow to take place in the world’s second-largest cellular market due to challenging merger rules, including a new requirement that the buyer pay separately for the target company’s airwaves based on prices determined at an auction.
Loop Telecom, an associate company of Loop Mobile, lost its permits in 21 of India’s 22 teleco service areas after the Supreme Court order on the 2008 wireless permits. Loop has denied any wrongdoing.
Loop’s main investor is Dubai-based Khaitan Holdings, whose founders are related to the founding family of Indian conglomerate Essar Group. Essar owns over a per cent in Loop.
eNews
Paisabazaar launches Credit Premier League 2.0
Nationwide campaign rewards highest credit scores with Rs 1 lakh top prize.
MUMBAI: When credit scores become a national league, even your CIBIL report starts feeling like it’s playing in the IPL and Paisabazaar has just kicked off the second season. Paisabazaar, India’s leading marketplace for financial products and the country’s largest free credit score platform, has announced the return of the Credit Premier League (CPL) 2.0, a fun, nationwide initiative to recognise and reward individuals with the highest credit scores.
Building on the success of the first edition, CPL 2.0 introduces higher rewards and broader participation. The individual(s) with the highest credit score in the country will win Rs 1 lakh, while state champions will each receive Rs 10,000. Additionally, all participants from the winning state, the one with the highest average credit score will also be rewarded.
All winnings will be credited directly to winners’ PB Wallet, allowing them to pay credit card bills, recharge mobiles, or settle utility bills seamlessly on the Paisabazaar platform.
Paisabazaar CEO Santosh Agarwal said the campaign aims to make credit awareness more engaging and mainstream. “With CPL, we are bringing together engagement, gamification and rewards to make conversations around credit scores more mainstream,” he noted. “Our focus remains on building a financially aware and credit-healthy Bharat.”
The first edition of CPL saw over 5.5 million participants, with the highest individual score touching 861. Delhi recorded the highest average credit score of 746.
Consumers can participate simply by checking their free credit score on the Paisabazaar platform or app. The CPL leaderboard and rankings will be available exclusively on the Paisabazaar App.
In a country where financial dreams are serious business, Paisabazaar has found a smart way to turn credit scores into an exciting game – because when your financial health gets rewarded, everyone wants to play.
