Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, has successfully raised a part of its Rs 21,000 crore rights issue. As per a statement from the telco to the stock exchanges’, Airtel’s paid-up share capital has increased from Rs 27,460.14 million to Rs 27,950.49 million consisting of 392,287,662 partly paid-up equity shares (Rs 1.25 partly paid-up) and 5,492,027,268 fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 5 each. The telco has raised Rs 5,246.85 crore in the first tranche of the rights issue recently approved by the company’s board.
Bharti Airtel Had Said Rights Issue Was Over-Subscribed
For the unaware, Bharti Airtel’s rights issue of Rs 21,000 crore opened on October 5, 2021, and closed on October 21, 2021. As per an ET Telecom report, names such as Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund, Lion Meadow Investment, SBI Life Insurance, EuroPacific Growth Fund, SBI MF, ICICI Prudential MF, and Nippon MF had bid for the shares in the telco’s rights issue. In an earlier statement, Bharti Airtel had said that its rights issue was oversubscribed by 1.44 times. The shares were overbid by both the promoter/promoter group and the public. Promoters including the Mittal family and the SingTel group jointly own approximately 56% of the company. The Mittal family owns around 24.13% of the company, while the SingTel group owns 31.72% of the company. As per the rules of the rights issue, 25% of the money had to be paid on the application, while the rest of the amount can be paid in two tranches within 36 months. The company’s board will decide on when the two additional calls will be made. Post the rights issue, Bharti Airtel’s shares will be diluted by 7% as the current shareholders of the company will get one share from the rights issue for every 14 shares they hold currently. Bharti Airtel’s shares closed at Rs 702.55, which is 0.9% in the high. The telco didn’t have to pay the penalty to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) because the telecom tribunal didn’t hear the case, which might have also had a positive impact on its stock.
