As per a filing by Bharti Airtel in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), its rights issue has been oversubscribed by 1.44 times. The telco said that this is an approximate figure. Both the public and promoter groups have overbid for the rights issue. All the applications received are still subject to verification and clearing of payments. Further, the final basis of allotment is also left. According to ET Telecom, big names such as ICICI Prudential MF, SBI Life Insurance, Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund, Lion Meadow Investment, Nippon MF, SBI MF, and EuroPacific Growth Fund are a few of the names which have bid for getting shares in Bharti Airtel’s rights issue of Rs 21,000 crores.
Bharti Airtel Will be Diluted by 7%
As per the rights issue rules laid out by the telco, it is clear that the company’s current shareholders are going to be diluted by 7%. Airtel shareholders will be eligible to buy one rights issue share for every 14 shares they are holding.
Bharti Airtel promoters, including the Mittal family and Singtel, have kept their promise of subscribing to the rights issue. The promoters had also promised that they would subscribe to all the unsubscribed shares in the rights issue.
The telco plans to use the money from the rights issue to service all of its major and high-cost debt. Further, the additional capital will help Bharti Airtel in expanding its 4G network in India and also invest in 5G aggressively. The 5G spectrum auctions are not too far now if they are going to take place in the last quarter of FY22.
It is worth noting that this is Bharti Airtel’s second rights issue in two years. Previously, the telco had raised capital through a rights issue in May 2019. With the relief measures in place and the additional capital from the rights issue, Bharti Airtel will be in a very good position soon.
