Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (Singtel) reported in an exchange filing that it had made an estimated S$1.4 billion in profit when it sold its 1.2% direct share in Bharti Airtel for S$2 billion, or roughly $1.54 billion.
Pastel, a fully owned subsidiary of Singtel, carried out the transaction by selling 71 million Airtel shares for ₹1,814 each. The deal was offered at a 2.85% discount to the closing price of Airtel’s shares on Thursday.
Singtel’s ownership of Bharti Airtel will drop from 29.5% to 28.3% after the sale, leaving an estimated S$48 billion in residual investment.
Following the news, shares of Bharti Airtel were down 2.8% at ₹1,816.3 on Friday.
For the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2024–2025, Airtel said earlier this week that its consolidated net profit had increased by 432% to ₹11,022 crore. Strong momentum in India, a resurgence in reported currency revenue growth in Africa, and the full-quarter impact of the Indus Towers consolidation were the reasons given by the telecom giant for this noteworthy development.
A private placement was used to complete the deal with a variety of institutional investors from India and abroad, including current Airtel shareholders. Singtel claims that the offering attracted a lot of interest and was heavily oversubscribed, which led to a larger transaction size and more stringent final price than anticipated. International long-only funds and domestic mutual funds accounted for the vast majority of the placement.
Arthur Lang, the chief financial officer of the Singtel Group, stated: “This deal enables us to retain our substantial stake in Airtel while crystallizing value at a favorable valuation. As India works toward its goal of creating a USD 1 trillion digital economy, we are happy to welcome additional investors who share our belief in Airtel’s robust development potential. In order for us to support Airtel’s long-term growth as a group, this will further solidify its shareholder base.
With a partnership that dates back more than 20 years, Singtel is still an Airtel strategic investor. After the deal, the business still owns a 28.3 percent share in Airtel, which is worth about SGD 48 billion. It is anticipated that the transaction will bring in an estimated SGD 1.4 billion.
