The Bharti Group has acquired a 4.99 per cent direct holding in Bharti Airtel from Vodafone for around $1.4 billion. The transaction is part of an agreement with Vodafone, which, after acquiring controlling stake in Hutchison Essar, had agreed to transfer part of its stake in Bharti Airtel to a Bharti Group company. With this deal, the Bharti Group’s holding in Bharti Airtel has increased to over 50 per cent. SingTel holds over 31 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel, Vodafone 5 per cent and Temasek 4.99 per cent. The rest is held by the public and other institutions. The Bharti Group had earlier sold 4.99 per cent indirect stake in Bharti Airtel to Singapore-based Temasek for about $2 billion.
