Bharti Airtel has announced that it will raise up to Rs 210 billion through a rights share offering.
In its recently held board meeting, Airtel’s board approved the issue at Rs 535 apiece, including a premium of Rs 530 per share. The shares will be issued in the ratio of 1 for every 14 held. The promoter and promoter group will not just subscribe to shares they are entitled to but also pick up any unsubscribed shares.
The promoter and the promoter group of the company will collectively subscribe to the full extent of their aggregate rights entitlement, or in proportion to their holding, Airtel said. They will also subscribe to any unsubscribed shares in the issue.
Meanwhile, Sunil Mittal, chairman, Bharti Airtel said that Airtel’s fundraising will provide fuel to accelerate investments across several parts of the telco’ portfolio to drive for competitive and profitable growth. Further, he added that Airtel intends to roll out a 5G network in key cities at the earliest to be able to provide the benefits of the new-age networks to its customer, especially the heavy users and industrial applications. The capital will also help Airtel accelerate its rollout of fibre to prepare the network in time for 5G rollout and also have millions of additional home passes of FTTH for home broadband, Mittal added. Further, commenting on tariffs, Mittal said that the industry can expect the base tariff to move from Rs 79 to Rs 99 and Airtel will not shy away from raising prices. He highlighted the need to increase tariffs by as much as 33 per cent by the end of this year, and eventually, doubling from the existing levels. Further, Mittal added that he expects the industry’s average revenue per user (ARPU) to rise to Rs 200 by the end of this financial year, and then inch to Rs 300.
