Bharti Telecom is preparing to buy a 3.33 percent Airtel stake from Singtel. The Indian company could strike the deal for 2.25 billion Singapore dollars, which is about ₹12,895 crore in 90 days’ time.
Singtel says that after the deals, the Singtel Group could effectively own a stake of 29.7 percent in Bharti Airtel. The Indian telco is worth 22 billion Singapore dollars.
Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal’s family and Singtel are both co-investors in Bharti Telecom Ltd. The Singaporean conglomerate holds a 50.56 percent stake in Bharti Telecom. The Mittal family owns 49.44 percent of the shares in the telco.
“After this inter-se transaction, Bharti Telecom will remain the principal vehicle to hold controlling shares in Airtel. Bharti Enterprises and Singtel to work towards equalizing their effective stake in Airtel over time,” Mr. Sunil Mittal said.
Besides, Bharti Telecom owns a 35.85 percent stake in Bharti Airtel which is the country’s second-largest telecom company.
“Singtel and its affiliates have entered into an agreement to transfer approximately 3.33% shares to BTL for an aggregate amount of approximately 2.25 billion Singapore dollars (SGD), leaving direct shareholding of Singtel and Bharti in Airtel at around 10% and 6% respectively,” Bharti Airtel said recently.
“Bharti and Singtel have agreed to work towards equalizing their stake in Airtel over a period of time,” the telco’s filing said.
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Singtel to use the money from Bharti telecom deal in 5G services
Singtel chief financial officer Arthur Lang said, “The sale in Airtel will be our first ever and seeks to address this gap by illuminating the sizable value of our shareholding in Airtel. It is also part of our capital management approach to take monetization opportunities that allow us to increase our return on invested capital and enhance total shareholders returns.”
Singtel (Singapore Telecommunications Limited) aims to invest the Singapore Dollar 2.25 billion from the Bharti Telecom deal into 5G services.
Bharti Airtel is a profitable company in India’s telecom sector. The telco has reported a five-fold hike in consolidated profit to ₹1,607 crores for the quarter that ended June.
At the same time, Bharti Airtel’s customer base grew by 4.7 percent on a year-to-year basis to 49.96 crores.
