Bharti Telecom to buy 3.33% Airtel stake from Singtel for Rs 12,900 cr

Singtel said it will retain 29.7% in Airtel and it remains fully committed to Airtel's next phase of growth.

Singtel's wholly-owned subsidiaries have entered into a share purchase agreement to sell a 3.3% direct stake in regional associate Airtel to Bharti Telecom, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Singtel, at any time before 23 November 2022.

The sale will unlock approximately SGD 2.25 billion as part of the Singtel Group's capital recycling strategy.

After the stake sale, Singtel's effective holding in Bharti Airtel will fall to 29.7%. Singtel will use the proceeds to fully fund 5G capex needs and growth initiatives in the next few years.

Bharti and Singtel have agreed that Bharti Telecom, the promoter of Airtel, will continue to be the principal vehicle to hold controlling shares in Airtel. Bharti Telecom will further strengthen its shareholding in Airtel.

Bharti and Singtel have agreed to work towards equalizing their stake in Airtel over a period of time.

Bharti Telecom is a holding company of Bharti Airtel with Bharti Enterprises and SingTel owning 50.56% and 49.44%, respectively. Bharti Telecom in turn owns 35.85% of Bharti Airtel.

Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises said, "Bharti Enterprises and Singtel have had two decades of an exceptional partnership based on mutual respect and trust. Over these years, Airtel has acquired a strong pan-India leadership position and also expanded to 16 countries in Africa and South Asia. After this inter-se transaction, Bharti Telecom will remain the principal vehicle to hold controlling shares in Airtel. Bharti Enterprises and Singtel have agreed to work towards equalising their effective stake in Airtel over time. Bharti Enterprises looks forward to working with Singtel over the long term in taking Airtel to an even greater position of success."

Bharti Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 491 million customers in 17 countries across South Asia and Africa.

Bharti Airtel's consolidated net profit surged to Rs 1,606.9 crore in Q1 FY23 compared with Rs 283.5 crore in Q1 FY22. Revenue from operations jumped 22.16% to Rs 32,804.6 crore in Q1 FY23 as against Rs 26,853.6 crore posted in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Shares of Bharti Airtel rose 0.18% to Rs 738.90 on Wednesday, 24 August 2022.

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