Bharti-MTN failure all 'part of the game': Pranab

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday described the failure of talks between India's telecom giant Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN on the $23 billion merger deal as just a "part of the game".

"You know sometimes amidst the big companies ... these deals become successful, sometimes these deals fail. This is all a part of the game," Mukherjee told reporters.

The proposed mega deal, which would have been the world's largest in the telecom sector, fell through for the second time in just over a year after the end of the exclusivity period on Wednesday.

Sunil Mittal-led Bharti called off discussions with MTN citing the South African government's rejection of the proposed merger structure, which would have created the world's third largest telecom company with combined revenues of over $20 billion annually and a subscriber base of over 200 million.

The deal failed as the Indian laws did not provide for dual listing of shares, which was being insisted by the South African government.

When asked if the deal termination had political reasons more than legal issues, Mukherjee said, "I am not making any comment on this. I have stated you the fact."

Meanwhile, planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said he is not disappointed with the failure of Bharti-MTN merger deal as such decisions should be left to the commercial judgement of the companies.

Ahluwalia also expressed hope that Bharti Airtel would be able to sort out the issues to the satisfaction of its shareholders.

After the deal collapsed, Bharti share surged as much as 11 per cent during intra-day on Thursday before closing at Rs 435.35, up by 4.01 per cent, on Bombay Stock Exchange.