Bharti Airtel says not in any discussion with Vodafone Group for Indus Towers stake

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday, April 24, issued a clarification saying that the company was not in any discussion with Vodafone Group to acquire a 21.05% stake in Indus Towers.

The company has no desire to raise its stake beyond what is required for financial consolidation of Indus in the company, Bharti Airtel said in an exchange filing.

“Indus is a provider of critical infrastructure services to the telecom industry and Airtel relies heavily on it. Airtel will therefore always ensure that Indus remains in robust health and financially stable,” it said.

The clarification was in response to a report earlier that said Bharti Airtel was in talks with Vodafone Group to acquire such a stake in Indus Towers. “This deal would have potentially given Airtel a controlling interest in the telecom infrastructure company,” the report stated.

At present, Airtel is the biggest shareholder in Indus Towers with a 47.95% stake while Vodafone Group holds 21.05%. Public shareholding in the telecom infra company stood at 30.97%. If Bharti Airtel were to buy out Vodafone Plc’s shares, its own stake in Indus would go up to 69%.

Following the development, shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd. were trading half a percent higher at ₹1,347.90 apiece on the NSE. The Indus Towers stock fell 1.93% to hit a low of ₹352.70, while Vodafone Idea tumbled over 5% to hit a low of %13.61.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow