Telecom major Bharti Airtel bought an additional stake of 133 million shares (4.94%) in tower company Bharti Infratel Ltd for about for ₹2,880 crores. The telco’s move took place through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nettle Infrastructure Investments Ltd, according to a filing.
Before the acquisition, Bharti Airtel and Nettle Infrastructure held 23.04% and 13.69% in Bharti lnfratel. Post this move, the total shareholding of Nettle and Bharti Airtel has reached over 40% in lnfratel.
The stake was purchased from private equity firm Providence Equity Partners which sold 77.08 million shares. These were held through EdgePoint Global Portfolio, EdgePoint Growth & Income Portfolio and P5 Asia Holding Investments Mauritius Ltd.
It should be mentioned here that Bharti Infratel’s board decided to proceed with the scheme for a merger with Indus Towers in the month of September. Vodafone Idea has got cash consideration of more than ₹3,760 crores for its 11.15% shareholding in Indus.
Bharti Infratel Ltd posted a consolidated net profit of ₹733 crores for the quarter ended September 2020, while consolidated revenue increased 2% to over ₹3,690 crores during the reported quarter.
Shares of the telecom infrastructure service provider Bharti Infratel closed at ₹224.80 on Wednesday.