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Alphabet Inc.’s
GOOGL,
GOOG,
Google plans to invest up to $1 billion in a multiyear partnership with Bharti Airtel Ltd.
532454,
to accelerate the growth of India’s digital economy, the companies said Friday.
Google plans to take a 1.28% stake in the Indian telecom company for $700 million, and also invest up to $300 million for potential commercial initiatives to boost Bharti Airtel’s offerings and to improve access in India’s digital services, the companies said.
The deal will be subject to necessary regulatory approvals, they said.
The partnership will focus on enabling affordable access to smartphones and growing the cloud ecosystem for businesses across India, they said.
Bharti Airtel plans to issue up to 71.2 million shares to Google at 734 rupees ($9.76) each, the company said.
