Bharti Airtel?s plans to delist its Zambian arm, Celtel Zambia, have hit a roadblock with the Lusaka Stock Exchange rejecting its application to delist on grounds of procedural flaws, according to news reports. Bharti Airtel holds 96.36 per cent in the company, which was part of Zain?s loss-making African assets in 16 countries that Bharti acquired in June 2010 for $9 billion.
Bharti Airtel holds its stake in Celtel through Bharti Airtel Zambia Holdings BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV, while minority shareholders hold the balance.
As per Zambia?s capital market regulations, any company that has over 50 shareholders must be quoted on the local exchange. Celtel has some 2000 minority shareholders who own roughly 3 per cent. Last December, this minority shareholder bloc rejected Bharti?s offer of 710 kwacha ($0.15) per share.
Accordingly, it remains to be seen whether Bharti will make a fresh offer to buy out the minority shareholders in Celtel. It is also not known whether the company, under the circumstances, can put in a fresh application for delisting to the Lusaka Stock Exchange before acquiring full ownership in Celtel.
