CCI gives a nod to Google's investment in Airtel

CCI gives a nod to Google's investment in Airtel

The funding is worth $700 million

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Google's acquisition of a 1.28 percent stake in telecom provider Bharti Airtel.

As per a press release issued by CCI, India's anti-trust regulator, Google plans to acquire a non-controlling minority stake in the Indian telecom provider. It said that both entities had also entered certain commercial arrangements.

The press release read, "The Commission approved the proposed combination on the basis of modifications offered by the Acquirer (Google)."

Early this year, Airtel had announced that Google would invest $700 million to buy a 1.28 percent stake in Airtel at a price of Rs.734 per share. The multinational technology company would invest another $300 million through various commercial arrangements in areas including manufacturing of affordable smartphones and investments in cloud adoption.

Google is making the acquisition through a holding company Google Investments, a subsidiary of Delaware-based Alphabet Inc.

On the other hand, Airtel is one of the largest international communications companies with over 480 million customers across various countries. However, India is the most important market for Airtel.

Apart from providing telecom services, Airtel also offers broadband and streaming services. The company also has an enterprise services arm, which offers cloud and data services, cyber security, advertising services, and cloud-based communications.