Bharti Telecom buys 1.35% stake in Bharti Airtel for Rs 8,301 crore

Bharti Telecom on Friday bought a 1.35 per cent stake in telecom provider Bharti Airtel for Rs 8,301 crore through an open market transaction.

Bharti Telecom is the largest promoter of Bharti Airtel Ltd with a 38.35 per cent stake as of September 30.

According to the block deal data available with the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Bharti Telecom purchased more than 8.11 crore shares, amounting to a 1.35 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel.

The shares were acquired at an average price of Rs 1,023 apiece, taking the aggregate transaction value to Rs 8,301.73 crore.

Meanwhile, another promoter group firm Indian Continent Investment Ltd offloaded the same number of shares of Bharti Airtel at the same price.

At the end of the September quarter, Bharti Telecom owned a 38.35 per cent stake while Indian Continent Investment Ltd had a 5.93 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel, shareholding data pattern showed with the bourse.

On Friday, shares of Bharti Airtel fell 0.27 per cent to close at Rs 1,012 apiece on the NSE.

In September last year, Singtel entities — Viridian and Pastel — jointly offloaded a 1.76 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel for about Rs 7,128 crore. Bharti Airtel’s promoter Bharti Telecom bought a 1.63 per cent stake from Singtel entity Pastel Ltd for Rs 6,602 crore through an open market transaction..

Singtel entities Viridian and Pastel own a 10.47 per cent stake in the country’s second-largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel. Bharti Group chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal’s family and Singtel are co-investors in Bharti Telecom Ltd (BTL).