The country's No. 1 telecom giant, Bharti Airtel, under merger talks with South Africa's MTN Group, has approached State Bank of India (SBI) to avail a loan worth $2 billion for $23-billion merger. The company has yet to pass many hurdles - such as approval from MTN's shareholders, having significant shares in the world's third-largest mobile operator - to materialize the merger.

Disclosing the move, Minister of State for finance Namo Narain Meena said in the Parliament: "The details of the loans to Bharti Airtel have not been finalized (by SBI)." He said that SBI can go ahead to grant this loan without seeking opinion of the market regulator, the security and Exchange Board of India.

Currently, both companies are working out issues, such as the price and the structure of the alliance, under their extended talks. Besides, the demands of MTN's minority shareholders, regarding hike the offer price by around 10% and foreign exchange risks, are also to be decided.

Besides SBI, Bharti AirTel may also get funds from JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, HSBC Bank and Barclays Bank that are likely to offer $500 million each.