Bharti Airtel Ltd. (ISE: 55QN) missed analyst expectations for the second quarter. The largest mobile phone operator in India gained clients in the country's smaller towns and villages, resulting in lower than expected revenues. The company pulled in INR99.4 billion ($2.05 billion) for the second quarter -- compared to analyst expectations of INR101.7 billion. Nonetheless, revenue was up from INR84.8 billion for the second quarter of 2008. Net income grew 24% to INR25.2 billion. Net of a tax gain, however, the company missed analyst forecasts of INR23.6 billion.

It would have been a blockbuster deal; that is, the merger of Bharti Airtel (India's largest mobile operator) and MTN Group (the largest mobile operator in Africa). But, cultural and control issues intervened – and, the deal essentially died this week.

If the parties could have pulled off the transaction, the combined entity would have a market value of $70 billion.

True, it might be a missed opportunity to add huge scale (which is critical in the mobile business). Yet, Bharti still has lots of growth left in India. Besides, the company needs to fend off the competition, such as Reliance and Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD).

Interestingly, it looks like MTN is still in play (this is according to a piece in the Wall Street Journal, which is a paid publication). For example, it looks like Reliance is in talks with the company, for good reason: MTN has a fast-growing franchise in over 20 countries.

In fact, there could be a bidding war. Some of the other potential bidders include: Deutsche Telekom AG, VimpelCom and Etisalat.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Global expert John Christy combines Asia and technology in the latest fund recommendation in his Forbes International Investment Report.

"Our latest buy is Matthews Asian Technology Fund (MATFX), which has been added to our Global Core and Asia-Pacific Portfolios. While there's plenty of uncertainty in global markets at the outset of 2008, the tech sector and Asia's economies both look well-positioned to weather the storm.

"The Matthews Asian Technology Fund gives you the best of both worlds. With $245 million in assets, the fund has delivered annualized returns in excess of 25% over the past five years. It invests in a mixture of both large-cap and small-cap companies, with varying degrees of exposure to 'technology.'

"Some holdings, like Chinese search engine Baidu.com and the Japanese social networking site Mixi, are pure technology plays, whereas Korea's Samsung Electronics and Japan's Sony fall into the more mature camp of consumer electronics.

"Telecom is also among the fund's biggest holdings, with China Mobile and India's Bharti Airtel among the top 10 holdings. That means the fund won't always deliver eye-popping returns, but it offers a bit more protection on the downside."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.