Bharti Airtel down 2% after 1.8 crore shares change hands in Rs 1,856-crore block deal

Apart from Bharti Airtel, the private equity firm is also expected to make an exit from IDFC first, joining a long list of exits the firm has made from India this year.

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The Bharti Airtel stock was trading 2 percent lower in the early trade on December 7 after 1.8 crore shares, or 0.8 percent stake, worth Rs 1,856 crore changed hands, block deal data showed.

Moneycontrol couldn’t immediately identify the buyer or the seller but a day earlier, reports said global private equity firm Warburg Pincus was looking to offload stake in the telecom giant, as it continues to pare its stakes in several Indian companies.

The reports said Warburg Pincus was set to raise $211 million by offering 1.75 crore shares of Bharti Airtel at a floor price of Rs 1,005 apiece.

At 10.08 am, Bharti Airtel  was trading at Rs 1,012.75 on the National Stock Exchange, down 2.14 percent from the previous close.

If Warburg Pincus is the seller, then this would the second time that the American private equity giant has offloaded stake in Bharti Airtel. In June, it sold shares worth Rs 1,649 crore through an open market transaction. This was through Lion Meadow Investment Ltd, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus.

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Apart from Bharti Airtel, the private equity firm is also expected to exit IDFC first, joining a long list of exits the firm has made from India this year.

Also read: Warburg Pincus likely to sell 1.3% stake worth $100 million in IDFC First Bank via block deal

In 2017, Warburg Pincus' affiliate announced that it would acquire around 20 percent stake in Bharti Telemedia Limited, the DTH arm of Airtel, for approximately $350 million.

Apart from Bharti Airtel and IDFC, Warburg Pincus also has investments in Indian entities such as Biba, Boat, Ecom Express, etc.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.