The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Bharti Airtel’s acquisition of an additional 20 percent stake in its direct-to-home (DTH) arm Bharti Telemedia from an affiliate of New York-headquartered private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

The competition watchdog is expected to publish a detailed public order on the transaction soon, The Economic Times has reported.

While the transaction dates to 2021, the CCI in August 2023 slapped a fine of Rs 1 crore on Airtel for concluding the deal without informing it.

In October 2023, the telecom company sought the competition watchdog’s approval for the transaction that also involved Lion Meadow Investment, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, acquiring a stake in Bharti Airtel, one of the persons cited above said. The CCI approved the transaction recently, the person added.

The stake acquisition, which will increase Bharti Airtel’s shareholding in Bharti Telemedia to 100 percent from 80 percent, valued the DTH firm at Rs 15,630 crore, the ET report stated.