Singtel, the Singaporean telecom giant, confirmed on Friday that it has divested a 1.2% stake in Bharti Airtel Ltd through a private placement. The deal, valued at approximately two billion Singapore dollars (or $1.54 billion USD), was executed with strong interest from both Indian and international institutional investors. Notably, some of the buyers included existing shareholders of Bharti Airtel. This move is part of Singtel’s ongoing capital management strategy aimed at optimizing its asset portfolio and enhancing shareholder returns.
Reports earlier had suggested that Singtel’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Pastel, planned to offload around 4.76 crore Airtel shares. The floor price was set at ₹1,800 per share, offering a 3.6% discount to Thursday’s closing price of ₹1,867.20. The offering saw high demand, leading to oversubscription and allowing Singtel to tighten final pricing and increase the transaction size.
Singtel stated that a significant portion of the shares was acquired by domestic mutual funds and international long-only funds. After this transaction, Singtel retains a 28.3% stake in Bharti Airtel, which is valued at an estimated S$48 billion (approximately $37 billion USD). The latest deal has resulted in an estimated gain of S$1.4 billion for Singtel.
This is not Singtel’s first sale of Airtel shares. Between 2022 and 2024, it raised around S$3.5 billion by selling a combined 4.1% stake – 3.3% to Bharti Telecom and 0.8% to GQG Partners. The proceeds have supported Singtel’s investments in 5G deployment, digital infrastructure, and consistent shareholder returns.
Commenting on the sale, Arthur Lang, Group CFO of Singtel, said the transaction reflects the company’s ability to crystalize value at a favorable valuation while maintaining its position as a significant shareholder in Bharti Airtel. He expressed confidence in Airtel’s growth potential as India advances toward its $1 trillion digital economy goal and welcomed new investors aligned with this vision.
Lang added that the sale underlines Singtel’s disciplined approach to capital allocation, an essential part of the company’s Singtel28 growth strategy. This approach ensures financial flexibility to fund future initiatives while continuing to deliver returns to shareholders.
