A few weeks back, Facebook announced to invest $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio for a 9.9% stake. It was soon followed by a report, which revealed Google is also in talks with Vodafone Idea to buy 5% stake in the company. Now, a fresh report by Reuters says Amazon is also joining the bandwagon as it is eyeing to buy 5% stake in Bharti Airtel for $2 billion.
According to the report, the sources close to the matter revealed both the US-based tech giant and India’s third-largest telecommunication company are in early talks for a new deal.
Amazon is willing to invest $2 billion for 5% stake in Airtel, however, the deal could either change or even agreement may not be reached according to the sources.
Having said that, one of the sources also cited that if the stake buyout fails, the companies will look at a commercial transaction that could give Airtel customers cheap access to Amazon products.
Both the companies declined to comment on the deal when Reuters reached out to them.
The investments from US tech giants can sort of help the suffering carriers in India, which are yet to pay out their AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) dues. In return, these companies get access to one of the largest market in the world to push their products.
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