Bharti Airtel To Acquire 400 MHz Spectrum In 26 GHz Band From Adani Data Networks

Bharti Airtel Ltd. announced on Tuesday that the company and its subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Ltd. have entered into definitive agreements with Adani Data Networks Ltd., a unit of Adani Enterprises Ltd., to acquire rights to use of 400 MHz of spectrum in the 26 GHz band.

The 400 MHz of spectrum will be acquired by the company in Gujarat (100 MHz), Mumbai (100 MHz), Andhra Pradesh (50 MHz), Rajasthan (50 MHz), Karnataka (50 MHz) and Tamil Nadu (50 MHz), according to an exchange filing.

The closing of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of the standard conditions "including conditions stated in the Spectrum Trading Guidelines and statutory approval", a media statement noted.

Notably, Adani Data Networks bought 400 MHz of spectrum in the 26 GHz millimetre wave band for Rs 212 crore in August 2022. The company secured the spectrum for 20 years in the first-ever 5G spectrum auction in India.

Before the announcement on spectrum acquisition, shares of Bharti Airtel on Tuesday closed 1.66% lower at Rs 1,852.20 apiece, compared to 0.17% advance at the benchmark NSE Nifty 50. The telco's stock has risen 42.75% in the last 12 months and 16.66% on a year-to-date basis.

Thirty out of the 35 analysts tracking the company have a 'buy' rating on the stock, three recommend a 'hold' and two suggest a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential upside of 2.2%.

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