Bharti Telecom Likely To Sell Stakes Worth $1 Bn Through Block Deal On Tuesday

A fancied stock at the moment, Bharti Airtel on May 18 reported a net loss of Rs 5,237 crore for the quarter ended March 2020.

Bharti Telecom Limited will be the seller in the transaction and will include a lock up condition of no intention to sell for 90 days from the seller. (File Photo/ Getty)

New Delhi: Bharti Airtel's holding company Bharti Telecom is likely to sell its shares worth $1 billion in the former through a secondary market block deal on May 26. Bharti Airtel has several promoters including Bharti Telecom, Indian Continent Investment Ltd, Viridian Ltd and Pastel Ltd. Of these, Bharti Telecom holds about 38.79% stake in Bharti Airtel as of March. After the deal, it is expected to be reduced by 2.75%. The total promoter shareholding as per exchange data currently stands at 58.98 per cent. On whole, their shareholding will come down to 56.2%, as per information on NSE. According to an IANS report, Singapore Telecom is Bharti Airtel's strategic partner while J P Morgan is promoter's sole placement agent or banker in the secondary market sale. It is learnt that this will be a 100 per cent secondary market placement through an accelerated book-build offering of equity shares. The floor price is Rs 558 per equity share at a 6% discount to the close price of Rs 593.20 as on May 22 on the National Stock Exchange. Around 150 million equity shares of telecom company comprising up to 2.75% of total shares outstanding as of March 31, 2020, will exchange hands on Tuesday. According to the report, Bharti Telecom Limited will be the seller in the transaction and will include a lock up condition of no intention to sell for 90 days from the seller. Moreover, no guidance will be given on pricing until the equity shares are crossed on the stock exchange on Tuesday. Investors should indicate the demand sensitivities across the price range. A fancied stock at the moment, Bharti Airtel on May 18 reported a net loss of Rs 5,237 crore for the quarter ended March 2020. Though the company is among the top institutional holdings of FPIs, mutual funds and insurance companies, it incurred a consolidated loss of Rs 1,035.3 crore in the December quarter and profit of Rs 107.2 crore in March quarter 2019. Its current market cap is Rs 3.23 lakh crore.