Bharti Airtel Stock Drops As Singtel Executes Major Share Sale

Bharti Airtel Ltd. witnessed a 3.06% decline in its share price on Friday on reports of a block deal that saw over 1% stake being sold.

As reported earlier. Singtel was to offload shares worth Rs 8,568 crore through open market transactions on Friday.

Singtel, the Singapore-based telecommunications giant, holds Airtel shares through its subsidiary, Pastel Ltd. The company had plans to sell approximately 4.76 crore shares, with the floor price for the block deal set at Rs 1,800 per share, representing a 3.6% discount to the last closing price. JPMorgan, a multinational investment bank, is said to be the broker for this transaction, NDTV Profit reported earlier.

Singtel has been a strategic investor in India's leading telecom provider since 2000. In 2022, Singtel divested a 3.3% stake for Rs 12,895 crore to Bharti Telecom, Airtel's holding company. Additionally, last year, it sold a 0.8% stake for Rs 5,850 crore to Rajiv Jain's GQG Partners.

The scrip fell as much as 3.06% to Rs 1,810 apiece. It pared losses to trade 2.75% lower at Rs 1,815 apiece, as of 11:10 a.m. This compares to a 0.41% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 34.99% in the last 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 44 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 11.

Out of 33 analysts tracking the company, 27 maintain a 'buy' rating, four recommend a 'hold,' and two suggest 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 9.3%