A block deal involving 5.1 crore shares of telecom player Bharti Airtel, worth Rs 8,475 crore, took place on the exchanges on February 18, with promoter entity Indian Continent Investment being the seller. As much as 0.9 percent stake in the company was sold through the block deals.
Bharti Airtel further confirmed that its promoter entity has sold a 0.84 percent stake in the company, with 1.20 crore of those shares acquired by Bharti Telecom, another promoter of the telecom operator. With this, the overall stake was allocated only to key marquee long only
names, both global and domestic, the company said in a statement.
Shares of Bharti Airtel remained jittery after the block deal, and at 09.26 am, were trading at Rs 1,671.50 on the NSE.
A report by CNBC-TV18 further disclosed that the deal will also come with an 180-day lock-in period for the seller, its agents, nominees, or subsidiaries. "All orders placed for shares under this deal will be executed exclusively for this transaction and will not be treated as regular market orders," the report added.
The transaction also comes after Bharti Telecom acquired of an additional 1.2 percent stake in the telecom Airtel from Indian Continent Investment in November last year. With the latest stake increase, Bharti Telecom now holds nearly 40.5 percent stake in Bharti Airtel, further solidifying its strategy to strengthen its position as the primary entity holding a controlling stake in the telecom company, with a focus on gradually increasing its stake while maintaining a cautious leverage profile.
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In addition, CNBC-Awaaz had also hinted towards Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel's) plans to offload its stake in Bharti Airtel through a Rs 8,500 block deal. According tot the CNBC-Awaaz report, SingTel’s board is expected to meet this week to discuss the proposed stake sale, which is part of its capital management strategy. However, an official response from Singtel on this matter is still awaited.
As of the end of the December quarter, promoter Indian Continent Investment held a 3.31 percent stake in Bharti Airtel while SingTel's subsidiary--Pastel Limited, owns a 9.5 percent direct equity in the telecom operator. SingTel had previously sold a 0.8 percent stake in Bharti Airtel to GQG Partners through a block deal window in March last year.
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