Bharti Airtel has reportedly allotted around 36.47 million preferential shares to a Warburg Pincus affiliate at Rs 600 per share in addition to some cash, for buying out the fund house’s 20 per cent stake in its DTH arm, Bharti Telemedia.
Post the transaction, Lion Meadow Investment, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, will hold 0.664 per cent in Airtel.
Earlier in February 2020, Airtel had announced a deal to buy Warburg’s 20 per cent stake in Bharti Telemedia for around Rs 31.26 billion. Airtel had said that the amount will be released through the issuance of 36.47 million equity shares of Airtel at a price of Rs 600 per share and up to Rs 10.37 billion in cash.
To this end, Airtel had constituted a special panel to outline the operator’s options for a re-organisation of its businesses. The move is aimed at sharpening Airtel’s focus on its consumer-facing digital and non-telecom businesses and open up avenues for unlocking value.
