Airtel Stake Sale: Singtel Group, a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate, said on Thursday it would sell a 3.3 per cent stake in India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd to Bharti Telecom Ltd. or shares worth about Rs 12,895 crore in a period of 90 days.
Bharti Group chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal’s family and Singtel own Bharti Telecom (BTL) and own 50.56 per cent and 49.44 per cent stake, respectively. Bharti Telecom is the promoter company of one of India’s biggest telecom operators, Airtel, with 35.85 per cent shareholding.
“Singtel and its affiliates have entered into an agreement to transfer approximately 3.33 per cent shares to BTL for an aggregate amount of approximately 2.25 billion Singapore dollars, leaving direct shareholding of Singtel and Bharti in Airtel at around 10 per cent and 6 per cent respectively,” Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
“Bharti and Singtel have agreed to work towards equalising their stake in Airtel over a period of time,” the filing said.
Singtel, Southeast Asia’s largest telecommunications company, said that two of its units- Pastel Ltd and Viridian Ltd- entered into an agreement with Bharti Telecom- a joint venture between Singtel and Bharti Enterprises- for the sale.
“As long-term strategic investors and partners, the value of our stakes in our regional associates has risen substantially over the years but has not been properly reflected in our share price. This sale in Airtel will be our first ever and seeks to address this gap,” Singtel Chief Financial Officer Arthur Lang said.
Earlier, CNBC-Awaaz citing sources had reported that such a stake sale would change the shareholding structure of the company. Thus, the Mittal family’s control and clout in the company may increase.
Yesterday, Bharti Airtel stock hit a new 52-week high of Rs 792.65 apiece, crossing the last high of Rs 781.90 apiece.
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