Bharti Airtel Services revealed it has purchased majority control of Bharti Group’s telecoms product maker Beetel Teletech for Rs 6.6 billion (US$79.2 million).
According to a regulatory filing, Bharti Airtel Services (which is a subsidiary of Indian telco Bharti Airtel) acquired a 97.1% stake in Beetel “as a part of group restructuring”.
Beetel – which has been in business since 1999 – designs technical solutions and services, and distributes IT peripherals, network and enterprise solutions, fixed landlines and mobile accessories. That includes products from big names such as Avaya, Samsung, Siemens, RADWIN and Ruckus, among others.
Airtel said the Beetel acquisition will boost its distribution and service capabilities for its enterprise business. The deal is also part of its strategy to “enable indigenisation initiatives within its ecosystem of telecom products in line with the government’s policy of ‘Make in India’,” the filing said.
In 2021, Beetech entered into a joint venture with Dixon Technologies (India) to form Dixon Electro Appliances, which manufactures landlines, telecom and networking products in compliance with the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for telecoms equipment.
Among other things, Dixon Electro Appliances manufactures GPONs, ONTs, modems, routers, set top boxes, and IoT devices for telecoms players, including Beetel and Airtel. Beetel holds a 49% stake in the JV.
The 97.1% stake acquired by Bharti Airtel Services was previously shared by several firms under the Bharti Group umbrella, including Bharti Enterprises (Holding) Private Limited, Bharti (RM) Holdings Private Limited, Bharti (RBM) Holdings Private Limited and Bharti (LM) Enterprises Private Limited.
