CCI approves Carlyle Group's stake acquisition in Airtel's data centre biz

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday said it has approved acquisition of compulsorily convertible preference shares and equity shares in Airtel's data centre business, Nxtra Data, by Carlyle Group's Comfort Investments II.

The Carlyle Group in July said it will acquire about 25 per cent stake in Nxtra Data Ltd for USD 235 million (about Rs 1,780 crore).

This will peg the enterprise valuation of Nxtra Data at USD 1.2 billion, which is over Rs 9,084 crore.

On completion of the deal, Carlyle will hold about 25 per cent stake in the business, with Airtel continuing to hold the remaining stake of about 75 per cent.

In a tweet, the regulator said it "approves proposed acquisition of compulsorily convertible preference shares & equity shares in Nxtra Data Limited @NxtraDataLtd by Comfort Investments II of Carlyle Group."

Nxtra Data is a fully-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Ltd and provides data centre colocation services through its 10 data centres located in India,