Bharti Airtel to sell 5% stake to Qatar Foundation

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Friday announced that it will sell 5 per cent stake to Doha-based Qatar Foundation Endowment for around Rs 6,800 crore ($1.26 billion) by issuing over 199.87 million new shares.

The company said in a statement that ‘it has entered into a binding agreement with Qatar Foundation Endowment, under which Bharti will issue 199,870,006 of its new shares to QFE representing a shareholding of 5 per cent in the Company, post issuance of the new shares."

As per the agreement, QFE will subscribe to 199,870,006 new shares of Bharti at a price of Rs 340 per share amounting to a total consideration of $1.26 billion (Rs 6,796 crore), it added.

"I am delighted to welcome another high quality long-term institutional investor to our shareholder base. . .this agreement exemplifies further strengthening of the already deep economic and cultural relations between Qatar and India," Bharti Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said in the statement.

Goldman Sachs acted as the sole financial advisor to QFE on this investment, the statement said.

"As a long-term global investor, our shareholding gives us exposure to a high growth sector in key emerging markets.

"QFE looks forward to supporting Bharti in realising the full potential of this world class business," QFE Acting Chief Executive Officer Rashid Al-Naimi said.

Photograph: Reuters