India's largest wireless carrier Bharti Airtel Ltd. is considering selling a 3 percent stake in its telecom tower company Bharti Infratel to institutional investors, Bloomberg reported citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The stake sale is aimed at reducing net debt, one of the people said. The paring of stake may happen as early as this month, the sources added.
The Sunil Mittal-led operator had a consolidated net debt of around Rs 87,840 crore at the end of June. The 3 percent stake that Bharti Airtel is considering to dilute is valued at around Rs 2,236 crore as per the current market price. Bharti Airtel holds 61.6 percent in the telecom tower company.
If the Bharti Infratel stake sale goes through, it will be the second one by the operator this year. In March this year, Bharti Airtel sold 10.3 percent stake in Infratel for Rs 6,194 crore to pare debt. A consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought 19 crore shares at around Rs 325 a piece.
Shares of Bharti Infratel had closed 0.3 percent higher while the benchmark BSE Sensex ended with gains of 0.2 percent.
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