Singtel sells 1.2% direct stake in India’s Bharti Airtel for $2 billion
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Singtel said it netted an estimated gain of $1.4 billion from the sale.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Bengaluru - Singtel said on May 16 that it had sold around 1.2 per cent of its direct stake in India’s Bharti Airtel for $2 billion, netting an estimated gain of $1.4 billion.
Pastel, a unit of South-east Asia’s largest telecommunications provider, sold 71 million shares in Airtel at 1,814 rupees apiece.
The price reflects a 2.85 per cent discount to the closing price of Airtel’s stock on May 15.
Singtel said its stake in Airtel will drop from 29.5 per cent to 28.3 per cent, which is valued at around $48 billion.
Shares of Singtel rose 1.3 per cent, or five cents, to close at $3.80 on May 16.
Bharti Airtel shares were down 2.8 per cent at 1,816.3 rupees in Mumbai.
Singtel has been reducing its stake in Airtel for a while.
Its unit Pastel held an estimated 9.2 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel as of March 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In March 2024, it trimmed its stake by selling about US$710 million (S$921 million) of Airtel stock, a move aimed at raising funds to invest in areas such as data centres.
The sale marks a resumption of activity in India’s equity capital market that had cooled in recent months.
Earlier this week, Ant Group entity Antfin Netherlands Holding sold about US$247 million worth of shares in India’s One 97 Communications, also known as Paytm, while General Atlantic divested shares in corporate registry services provider KFin Technologies.
REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
