Bharti Telecom raises stake in Airtel to 40.33%
Bharti Telecom Ltd (BTL), the primary promoter of Bharti Airtel, has raised its stake in the telecom giant to 40.33% by acquiring an additional 1.2% from fellow promoter entity, Indian Continent Investment Ltd (ICIL), through an off-market transaction.
“BTL has acquired 1.2% shares of Airtel from ICIL via an off-market transaction,” BTL stated in a filing to the NSE late Wednesday.
As a result, ICIL’s shareholding in Airtel has decreased to 3.31% from approximately 4.51%.
BTL remains Airtel’s largest shareholder, with ownership shared between the Mittal family, which holds 50.56% in BTL, and Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) with 49.44%.
Given Airtel’s market capitalization of over Rs 9,10,222.14 crore, the 1.2% stake is estimated to be worth around Rs 10,924 crore. Airtel has yet to disclose details on the deal’s valuation.
In the last few years, BTL has steadily increased its stake in Airtel, while SingTel’s effective shareholding in the company has declined to around 29%.
This transaction follows BTL’s recent capital raise of approximately Rs 11,150 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs), arranged by Barclays and Standard Chartered Bank.