Bharti Airtel hikes Infratel holding by 4.9%, stake reaches 41.6%

Bharti Airtel on Thursday said it has increased its stake in Bharti Infratel by purchasing an additional 4.9 per cent by way of a block deal for just below Rs 3,000 crore.

Currently, Bharti Airtel holds 36.7 per cent stake in the tower subsidiary. After completion of the deal, its stake will increase to 41.6 per cent.

The telecom operator has bought close to 133 million shares in the tower arm at Rs 216 apiece, for a total of Rs 2,870 crore.

Bharti Airtel’s shareholding includes the 13.69 per cent stake of its subsidary Nettle Infrastructure, which has, in turn, acquired the additional equity in Bharti Infratel, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Earlier on November 20, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Infratel announced the completion of the merger process.

The two companies had said that the merged entity has led to the creation of a mega tower company.

Vodafone Idea has received close to Rs 3,760 crore in cash for its 11.15 per cent holding in Indus.

As promoters of the new company, Vodafone Group will hold 28.12 per cent stake in the merged entity, while the holding of Bharti Airtel Group will stand at close to 36.7 per cent, the statement had said.

In September, Bharti Infratel had said that its board had approved of the merger, which had been announced two years prior.

According to people in the know, attractive valuations and a strong dividend yield were key factors that led to the telecom operator increasing its stake in the tower subsidiary.

However, the people added that there was no business-related trigger.

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