There are many ifs and buts to the complex deal. But Mittal cannot be faulted on persistence. If it goes through and succeeds, it will give Mittal a presence in 21 African markets, including some of the biggest on the continent.

Such success will be sweet, for he has in the past lost out in bids to acquire telecom licences in Kenya, Iran, the Seychelles and Saudi Arabia, but managed to start mobile services in Sri Lanka.

On last year's aborted MTN deal, Mittal told Business Standard  then that the South African major basically went back on an agreement under which it would merge with Bharti. Instead, it offered a complex new offer for Bharti to merge with MTN, which Mittal found unacceptable.

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