Singtel, a major stakeholder in Bharti Telecom, a promoter company of Bharti Airtel, is reportedly looking to sell a stake of up to $1-$2 billion through a mix of shares in Bharti Telecom and Bharti Airtel to Sunil Bharti Mittal, another prominent stakeholder in the company. Note that both the promoters already have direct equity in Bharti Airtel as well.
According to an ET report, the exact details of the transaction haven’t been worked out yet, but if the sale takes place for around $1 billion, then according to the company’s current market cap, Singtel’s shareholding in Airtel would reduce by close to 2%. If the sale is for $2 billion, then the shareholding of Singtel in Airtel would go down by 4%. Airtel’s current market cap is Rs 3.78 lakh crore.
Singtel Doesn’t Want to Leave Airtel, But Only Utilise Profits for New Investment Opportunities
As per the publication’s report, Singtel wants to utilise the profits from the sale to invest in new opportunities. Airtel’s stock has appreciated 33% in the last year. Nothing is confirmed for now as none of the parties named above has said anything about it.
But it should be clear very soon. Singtel is going to announce its quarterly results on Friday. A Singtel spokesperson said that Singtel has been a strategic investor in Airtel, and the company has been a core part of their international portfolio for many years now.
The spokesperson further said that Singtel hasn’t hired any bank to help with such a sale and affirmed that Singtel would disclose any material transactions that take place. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, has been a core part of Airtel’s philosophy over the years and has actively taken an interest in the company’s business to help it survive very rough times.
Bharti Airtel is now the only operator after Jio, which is profitable in the country, and a lot of it is owed to the execution of plans from the company.
