Mumbai: Bharti Airtel has bid for a 51 per cent stake in South African telecommunications group MTN, valuing the firm at $37 billion, newspaper reports said.

Bharti, in a website release, however, said the negotiations with MTN Group Limited of South Africa are exploratory in nature.

''Current discussions are still at an early stage, are exploratory in nature and may or may not lead to any transaction,'' Bharti said in the release.

A statement issued by Singapore Telecom, which owns over 30 per cent of Bharti, also said Bharti is in talks with the South African firm.

"Current discussions are still at an early stage, are exploratory in nature and may or may not lead to any transaction," it added.

Quoting unnamed sources in the company, the Financial Times, said Bharti had offered 165 rand ($21.8) per share for MTN against the South African company's demand for 180 ($23.8) per share.

Bharti also has secured $12 billion from banks to finance the deal. Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered had each pledged to underwrite $6 billion of the amount, it said, adding, Bharti would fund the balance by issuing equity.

MTN also made a statement in which it said it was in talks with Bharti and described the talks as "exploratory in nature." It also advised shareholders "to exercise caution".

If successful, the deal could be India's biggest foreign acquisition, topping Tata Steel's $13 billion acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group last year, and would make Bharti a top telecom player in emerging markets.

Reliance Communications, Vodafone and China Mobile are among other companies interested in MTN, which may not offload 100 per cent of one of South Africa's flagship firm to foreign bidders.

MTN has a market value of about $36 billion, and as of end-March had 68.2 million subscribers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Bharti is valued at about $42 billion and has 62 million subscribers. Reliance Communications has a market capitalisation of around $28 billion.

Shares in Bharti Airtel fell almost 5 per cent amid on news of the potential multi-billion dollar takeover of South Africa's MTN Group. Bharti shares were down 3.2 per cent at Rs865 in the Mumbai market, and down 4.9 per cent to their lowest since April 25.