Bharti Airtel Plans IPOs for Payments Bank, Nxtra; Focuses on Enterprise Growth: Report

Bharti Airtel Eyes IPOs for Payments Bank, Nxtra; Focuses on Enterprise Growth: Report
Bharti Airtel is planning to list its Airtel Payments Bank and Nxtra data centre unit in the next few years. While the payments bank is required to go public within 10 years of operations, the Nxtra listing will be aimed at monetization, ET reported, citing a senior company executive.

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Also Read: Exclusive: Nxtra by Airtel Says Capacity Expansion Is Driven by Customer Needs, Not Competition

Airtel Payments Bank

Airtel Payments Bank, which began operations in 2017, turned profitable and reported a net profit of Rs 18.5 crore on Rs 700 crore revenue in the third quarter of this financial year. It is expected to be the first to hit the market. “We have some mandate, we have been net worth positive for some time. So, over the next couple of years, we should potentially see an IPO in the payments bank,” the executive was quoted as saying in the report.

Nxtra Data Center

Bharti Airtel’s data centre subsidiary Nxtra, in which Carlyle holds a 24 percent stake, currently holds a 12 percent market share in India’s fragmented data centre market. The company posted a net profit of Rs 231.8 crore on Rs 1,826.6 crore revenue in FY24. While an IPO or stake sale is being considered, Airtel is prioritizing expansion, with plans to double capacity to 400 MW and acquire more land.

“It is an asset that we can divest or create an IPO or go down in our shareholding (in some years). Today we have around 75 percent, which can be divested,” the executive reportedly said, adding, “But for now, Bharti Airtel has big plans for Nxtra for the next couple of years, with big-ticket investments planned in building data centre capacity and acquiring more land for the purpose.”