Bharti Telecom, the promoter of Bharti Airtel, is set to raise $1 billion through a block deal on Tuesday to become debt free.
Informed sources said that the firm is looking to sell 2.75 per cent in the telco at a floor price of Rs 558 per share. The price represents a discount of around 6 per cent to the closing price of the Bharti Airtel scrip on Friday. The share had settled at Rs 593.
Bharti Telecom is reported to have brought in JP Morgan for the sale, which could see close to 15 crore shares being sold. It will make the promoter debt free.
For the March quarter of 2020, Bharti Telecom held a 38.79 per cent stake in Airtel. The total promoter holding, including a 13.91 per cent stake held by Pastel (a Singtel unit), stands at 58.98 per cent.
Bharti Airtel recently reported a consolidated loss of Rs 5,237 crore for the January-March quarter of 2019-20 mainly on account of provisions for statutory dues. The company had posted a profit of Rs 107.2 crore in the same period a year ago.
The telco registered a consolidated revenue of Rs 23,722.7 crore during the reported quarter. The company had posted a revenue of Rs 20,602.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2018-19.
The company posted exceptional items totalling Rs 7,004 crore during the March quarter, which comprises a charge on account of the reassessment of regulatory cost.
For the whole of 2019-20,, the company posted a net loss of Rs 32,183.2 crore and a revenue of Rs 87,539 crore. For 2018-19, Airtel had reported a net profit of Rs 409.5 crore and revenue of Rs 80,780.2 crore.
