Sunil Mittal, the founder of Bharti Airtel, and US-based private equity major Warburg Pincus have submitted a bid to acquire a 49 per cent stake in Haier India, at a sharply reduced valuation of Rs 6,000 crore ($720 million), a Business Standard report stated, citing people familiar with the matter.
Haier Group, the Chinese parent, was initially targeting a valuation of about $2 billion (Rs 17,100 crore), but received much lower offers, source told the publication. The company is now considering whether to move forward with the deal or wait for better market conditions.
As part of the proposed deal, Haier India employees may be granted a 2 per cent stake, the report said, adding that a stock market listing is being considered within two years to provide an exit route for the Chinese parent.
This development echoes an earlier Bloomberg report in May, which suggested that Haier might not proceed with the transaction and that other investors could still emerge before a final decision is made.
Haier’s India unit, Haier Appliances (India) Pvt Ltd, has emerged as a significant player in the South Asian market. According to a company filing, the firm’s revenue in the South Asia region grew over 30 per cent on-year in the first quarter of 2025. Haier India operates three manufacturing facilities in the country.
Earlier in May, Bharti Airtel had released its Q4FY25 earnings report with 25 per cent sequential decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 11,022 crore, primarily due to a significant exceptional gain. This included a tax benefit of Rs 5,913 crore arising from the recognition of previously unrecognised deferred tax assets. As a result, net profit on YoY was up 432 per cent. Further, excluding exceptional items, net profit stood at Rs 5,222 crore.
During the same period, employee count in India dipped marginally. Bharti Airtel had seen its total employee count dip slightly (by 106 people) during the final quarter of FY25 — from 24,526 individuals in December 2024 to 24,420 at the end of March this year. Meanwhile the Africa segment saw a slight increase in employee count — from 4,189 to 4,253 during Q4FY25.