Amazon.com is in early-stage talks to buy a stake worth at least $2 billion in Indian mobile operator Bharti Airtel, three people with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters, in a move that could turbocharge India's digital economy.
The planned investment, if completed, would mean Amazon acquiring a roughly 5 percent stake based on the current market value of Bharti and would give India's third-largest telecoms company a boost as it seeks to compete against the number one player Reliance Jio.
"Jio has transformed itself from a pure mobile operator to a digital technology-led consumer facing platform, and Airtel can do the same," said one of the people.