Shares in top Indian telecoms firm Bharti Airtel fell as much as 4.8% on Monday to their lowest in over three months on worries the company will sweeten its offer to buy a stake in South Africa's MTN.
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On Friday, a source familiar with the negotiations told Reuters that Bharti may increase its offer by between 5 and 10 percent.
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"We don't understand the logic for this deal at all. Why does Bharti want to change from a company with a net cash position of $1 billion to a debt-ridden firm?" Sonam Udasi, vice president of research at BRICS Securities, said.
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"We do not buy the argument the deal is going to add value. There is nothing in the deal to highlight as adding strategic value."
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Bharti shares fell to 365.50 rupees, their lowest since April 29, before paring some losses to trade down 2.9 percent at 372.75 rupees by 0755 GMT -- making them one of the major losers in the broader BSE index, which was up 0.2 percent.
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Bharti and MTN, which have been working on a complex $23 billion cash-and-share swap for over two months, said a week ago that exclusive talks would be extended until late August and that the terms of the potential deal may be adjusted.
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Bharti and MTN hope that the deal will lead to a full merger, creating the world's third biggest cell phone group, with more than 200 million customers and combined revenue of $20 billion.
