Bharti Telecom sells 2.75% stake in Airtel for ₹8,433 cr to institutional investors

Promoter firm Bharti Telecom has sold 2.75 per cent stake in Airtel to institutional investors in the secondary market, raising over ₹8,433 crore, the company said on Tuesday.

The sale proceeds will be fully utilised to repay debt at Bharti Telecom and will make the promoter holding company a 'debt free company', it said.

Bharti Group and Singtel will continue to hold a majority stake in Bharti Airtel at 56.23 per cent after the transaction, it added.

Announcing the closure of secondary block placement of Airtel shares, Bharti Telecom said that the issue over-subscribed multiple times with healthy mix of all categories of investors, long only and hedge fund investors across geographies in India, Asia, Europe and the US.

"Bharti Telecom Limited, the promoter company of Bharti Airtel Limited have today sold 2.75 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel to institutional investors through an accelerated book building process in the secondary market," it said.

Bharti Telecom has raised over ₹8,433 crores (or about USD 1.15 billion) through accelerated book-build offering of equity shares of Bharti Airtel, it added.

The stake sale was anchored by several existing and new shareholders and several marquee global mutual fund complexes, sovereign wealth Funds, multi-strategy funds and domestic institutional investors in sizable quantities, the company said.

With Bharti Telecom Limited becoming a zero debt company Bharti Airtel's credit profile will also be augmented as it will stand to benefit from deleveraging on a consolidated basis, including any debt of promoter holding company.

"Bharti Group and Singtel, as Bharti Airtel's largest shareholders remain committed to the business and the long term prospects of Bharti Airtel. In the last few years the promoters have invested over ₹21,000 crores (over USD 3 billion) in Bharti Airtel and stay fully committed to investing further in the business as may be required," the statement said.