Bharti Airtel gets shareholders’ nod to raise stake in Airtel Africa

Airtel Africa is central to our growth strategy and is well positioned to deliver robust performance with an increasing contribution to our consolidated revenues. Structured as a share swap, India’s largest-ever transaction preserves capital strength for Airtel’s core operations and future growth ambitions

— Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Enterprises

Bharti Airtel on Monday said it has received approval from around 100 per cent of its shareholders to raise its stake in Airtel Africa by 16.31 per cent through a share-swap agreement worth Rs 28,220 crore. Following the transaction, Bharti Airtel’s stake in Airtel Africa will rise to around 79 per cent from the current 62.73 per cent.

“Nearly 100 per cent of its (Bharti Airtel) shareholders have approved the ongoing transaction to consolidate its stake in key strategic subsidiary Airtel Africa plc,” the company said in a statement.

The transaction involves Bharti Airtel issuing equity shares to Indian Continent Investment Limited, a promoter group entity, on a preferential basis, in exchange for its 16.31 per cent stake in Airtel Africa.

The transaction, being a cashless share swap, presents an opportunity to the company to acquire a large block and increase its economic interest in a high-growth asset without any incremental leverage or cash outflow, the statement said.

“Airtel Africa is central to our growth strategy and is well positioned to deliver robust performance with an increasing contribution to our consolidated revenues. Structured as a share swap, India’s largest-ever transaction preserves capital strength for Airtel’s core operations and future growth ambitions,” Bharti Enterprises Founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said.

He said overwhelming support of shareholders reinforces the confidence that the investors have in the organisation.

“As we look ahead, we see significant potential in Africa for long-term shareholder value creation,” Mittal added.