1. But theres nothing like the anticipation of snagging a deal that he almost lost. Imagine talking marriage to someone who ditched you at the last minute, at your terms and at a better bargain. Sweet, huh? For the 52-year-old chairman and group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, this is that moment. One year after being spurned by the African telcom giant MTN, he is now busy sewing up the deal. The two companies are in exclusive talks till July 31. The likely merger will create a $23-billion emerging market giant that will straddle India, the Gulf and Africa populous geographies with close to 2.5 billion people and 200 million plus customers. It will also make the combo the third largest mobile operator in the world with over 200 million customers in 25 plus countries. 2. By all accounts, this will be a transformational deal. This will easily be the biggest overseas M&A deal by an Indian company. It will also give Sunil Mittal, the entrepreneur, the next fix that he desperately needs. By now, the domestic telecom business is on auto pilot. For the past five years, Mittal tried his hand at retail, insurance and agriculture. He picked the best companies in the world Wal-Mart, AXA and Rothschild to partner him. (Rothschild was later replaced by Del Monte). But the results havent come through as yet. Replicating the same Airtel success has proven elusive. So now, Mittal is focussing on telecom all over again. Except that this time, he has an entirely new agenda.