Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) has acquired 7.39 percent stake in the Indian telecom company, Bharti Telecom the parent of Bharti Airtel. It plans to acquire a 21 percent stake in Intouch for 1.58 billion Singapore dollars ($1.18 billion) and an additional 7.39 percent stake in Bharti Telecom for 884 million Singapore dollars ($650 million), through wholly-owned subsidiaries.
This takes Singtel’s interest in the share capital of Bharti Telecom to increase from approximately 39.78 per cent to 47.17 per cent. The Mittal family has 51% stake in Bharti Telecom while Singtel holds 39%. Singtel will pay Rs 235.62 for each share of Bharti Telecom. The transaction is expected to be completed by December 2016.
Singtel said in the statement,
Thailand and India are fundamentally attractive markets which are reaping the benefits of rapidly increasing smartphone penetration and mobile data adoption by a growing middle class. Both AIS and Airtel are well-positioned to benefit from these trends. The recent mobile spectrum auctions in Thailand and ongoing industry consolidation in India have strengthened their competitive positions. They have also built for the future, securing significant spectrum for the long term and investing extensively in 3G and 4G networks and services.
SingTel will also acquire 21 percent of Intouch Holdings Public Company Ltd. from Temasek.