As per industry sources, Bharti Airtel will seek the approval of its board on December 4, 2019, to raise around $3 billion through issues of equity or bonds. These funds will be primarily used to pay the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) liability and to partially invest in the network upgradation.
Moreover, the board is also expected to evaluate alternate fund raising means such as debentures, non-convertible debt instruments along with warrants, convertible debentures, securities or any other equity-based instruments including through qualified institutions placement or rights issue, or through any other permissible mode.
Airtel recently announced its financial results for quarter ended September 30, 2019. The company reported net loss of Rs 230.45 billion during the period under consideration. This loss can be attributed to the provisioning of Rs 284.5 billion in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling on statutory dues.
According to government data, Airtel’s liabilities add up to nearly Rs 355.86 billion, of which Rs 216.82 billion is licence fee and another Rs 139.04 billion amount to the SUC dues (not including the dues of Telenor and Tata Teleservices).
