SOFTBANK TO INVEST IN AIRTEL AFRICA

Six global investors, including SingTel, Warburg Pincus, Temasek, SoftBank Group International and others, will invest $1.25 billion through a primary equity issuance in Bharti Airtel’s subsidiary Airtel Africa at a post-money equity value of about $4.4 billion. The funding will be used to bring down the Africabased operator’s debt from $5 billion and pave the way for an IPO. Post the deal, Bharti Airtel’s stake in its Africa unit will be at around 65 per cent, a dilution of over 28 per cent.