Bharti Telecom, owned by Sunil Bharti Mittal, is reportedly planning to raise around Rs 8,500 crore (USD 1.01 billion) in the local-currency bond market. The company The company may seek bids for the notes maturing in three to ten years next week, with the longer-term bonds expected to offer a coupon of 9 percent, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
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Details on the Bond Issuance
This fundraising initiative comes shortly after Bharti Airtel Limited, India's second-largest wireless carrier, of which Bharti Telecom is the largest shareholder, reported a quarterly profit that fell short of analysts' expectations due to foreign exchange losses.
If successful, this would mark Bharti Telecom’s largest rupee bond issuance to date. As a holding company, Bharti Telecom might need to provide a higher coupon rate compared to similarly rated firms, the report added.
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Onshore debt sale
Reportedly, Standard Chartered and Barclays are managing the issuance, though both banks have not publicly commented on the deal. This will be Bharti Telecom's first onshore debt sale in 2024, following a previous raise of Rs 80 billion through three-part notes in December 2023.
