Airtel to buy back 20% stake in Bharti Telemedia for Rs 3,126 crore

New Delhi, February 17

Telecom firm Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it will acquire 20% stake in its DTH arm Bharti Telemedia from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus for about Rs 3,126 crore.

The Warburg Pincus affiliate, Lion Meadow Investment, had acquired 20% equity stake in Bharti Telemedia for Rs 2,310 crore in 2018 after the announcement of deal in December 2017.

The transaction will be discharged primarily via issuance of about 3.64 crore equity shares of Airtel at a price of Rs 600 per share and up to Rs 1,037.8 crore in cash, Bharti Airtel said.

“The proposed transaction is part of Airtel’s strategy to align the shareholding of its customer facing products, services and businesses under the same holding group.

“A full control and ownership over Bharti Telemedia allows Airtel to offer differentiated and converged solutions to customers so as to promote ‘One Home’ strategy,” the statement added.

Airtel said it will issue its shares to the Warburg Pincus affiliate at a premium of about 0.5% to the floor price determined as per ICDR (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) regulations.

“The remaining consideration of Rs 937.8 crore shall be paid in cash on the closing date of the proposed transaction. There may also be minor customary closing adjustments not exceeding Rs 100 crore,” it said. — PTI

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