Bharti Airtel to acquire Vodafone's 4.7% stake in Indus Towers for Rs 2,388 cr

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Friday said that it will acquire a 4.7 per cent stake in Indus Towers from Vodafone Group for about Rs 2,388 crore, according to a company filing.

The transaction will be executed at a price of Rs 187.88 per share, it added.

''...pursuant to the above referred agreement dated February 25, 2022 entered inter alia into between certain affiliates of Vodafone Group Plc (including Euro Pacific Securities), the company and Nettle, the transaction shall be executed at Rs 187.88 per share basis the agreed price formula in the agreement, aggregating to Rs 23,880.62 million,'' Airtel said in a regulatory filing.

This will be upon fulfillment of all conditions precedents as agreed by the parties under the agreement, it added.

Airtel said agreement pertained to acquisition of about 4.7 per cent equity in Indus Towers by the company and/or Nettle Infrastructure Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary, from Vodafone Group affiliate, Euro Pacific Securities.

ALSO READ: Airtel prepays Rs 8,815 cr to clear deferred spectrum liabilities 

On February 25, Bharti Airtel had said it has signed an agreement to buy Vodafone's 4.7 per cent stake in Indus Towers on the condition that the proceeds will be used for investment in Vodafone Idea and clearing its dues towards the mobile tower company.

Indus Towers, formerly Bharti Infratel, provides passive telecom infrastructure. It deploys, owns and manages telecom towers and communication structures for various mobile operators.

The company's portfolio of over 1,84,748 telecom towers makes it one of the largest tower infrastructure providers in the country with presence in all 22 telecom circles.

Indus Towers caters to all wireless telecommunication service providers in India.

Shares of Bharti Airtel on Friday closed 0.69 per cent lower at Rs 711.25 apiece on BSE.

Earlier today, Airtel had stated that it has prepaid Rs 8,815 crore to the Department of Telecom (DoT) to clear deferred liabilities towards spectrum acquired in auction in 2015. The company said that the prepayment is for instalments that were due in FY2027 and FY2028.