Leading telecom services provider Bharti Airtel yesterday said it is in talks with Tata Group for the merger of its loss-making direct-to-home (DTH) business.

Airtel is holding discussions with the salt-to-software conglomerate for the merger of Bharti Telemedia, which offers cable and satellite TV services, with Tata Play, according to a regulatory filing from Sunil Bharti Mittal-led firm, a PTI report from New Delhi stated yesterday.

“We wish to submit that Bharti Airtel and Tata Group are in bilateral discussions to explore a potential transaction to achieve a combination of Tata Group’s DTH business housed under Tata Play Ltd, with Bharti Telemedia, a subsidiary of Airtel, in a structure acceptable to all parties,” it said.

Though it has not shared any further details, according to reports, this deal is expected to be implemented through a share swap arrangement.

If completed, this would be the second merger in the DTH sector after the Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger in 2016.

Bharti Telemedia’s turnover in FY24 stood at Rs 3,044.7 crore, while its losses after tax was Rs 75.9 crore.

For the financial year ended on March 31, 2024, Tata Play‘s (erstwhile known as Tata Sky) consolidated loss widened to Rs 353.9 crore as revenue from operation declined 4.32 per cent to Rs 4,304.62 crore.

The company had reported a net loss of Rs 105.25 crore a year before in FY23 and its revenue from operations stood at Rs 4,499.19 crore.

Earlier, it had received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

However, it was delayed due to “certain observations”, as the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has asked for a change in the equity structure of the company.

As per the last annual government filings, after Tata Sons, Network Digital Distribution Services FZ – LLC (NDDS) and TS Investments Ltd are the second biggest shareholders of the company, owning 20 per cent share each. Baytree Investments (Mauritius) Pte owns 10 percent of Tata Play, the PTI report added.