Homegrown telecom major Bharti Airtel is in advanced talks to sell its Sri Lankan business to UAE-based Etisalat, sources have told CNBC-TV18.
Airtel is learnt to be seeking USD 500-600 million (Rs 3,000-3,600 crore) from the sale and had originally invested USD 300 million in the business.
The company has about 2 million users in Sri Lanka and offers 3.5G services in the country’s tier-1 cities.
Also read: Airtel launches 3G services in Bangladesh
Airtel is looking to move out of smaller unprofitable markets and intends to use the sale proceeds to reduce its debt, sources said.
At the end of March 2013, the company had debt to the tune of Rs 12,979 crore.When contacted, Airtel said it did not comment on market speculation while Etisalat was unavailable for comment.
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