AIRTEL BOARD APPROVES ₹21K CR RIGHTS ISSUE

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel Ltd’s board approved a proposal to raise as much as ₹21,000 crore by selling stocks to existing shareholders, as the telecom operator seeks to expand its network amid intense competition with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.

The board fixed the sale price for the rights issue at ₹535 apiece, with 25% of the amount to be paid on application and the balance in two more tranches, based on the company’s requirements, within 36 months, Bharti Airtel said in stock exchange filings on Sunday. Shareholders will be eligible to buy one share for every 14 held.

The fundraising will help the company bolster its balance sheet to invest in building a fifthgeneration, or 5G, telecom network, strengthen its existing network to compete with Reliance Jio and pay adjusted gross revenue-related (AGR) liabilities, among other dues. Airtel did not say how it will use the proceeds of the share sale.

On Sunday, the company’s board also reviewed the industry scenario, business environment and the financial and business strategy of the company.

Bharti Airtel last raised ₹25,000 crore through a rights offering in May 2019. In February this year, it raised $1.25 billion by selling debt instruments to overseas investors ahead of a planned spectrum auction in March. Earlier this month, it raised ₹1,005 crore by transferring its ‘right to use’ of 800MHz spectrum in three circles to Reliance Jio, which also assumed future liabilities of ₹469.3 crore related to the spectrum.