After investing in the Adani Group, the US-based investment firm GQG Partners has acquired a significant chunk in Bharti Airtel, buying 0.8 per cent direct stake from Singtel for S$950 million. Singapore Telecommunication said in a regulatory filing that it sold 0.8 per cent stake in its regional associate, Airtel, to GQG Partners. With this sale, its stake in Airtel stands reduced to 29 per cent.
The deal reflects the effort of SingTel to recycle capital, bringing the total to S$8 billion since its strategic reset in 2021.
SingTel sold its 49 million or 0.8 per cent of the outstanding shares in Airtel through its unit Pastel.
After the transaction, SingTel will have an effective stake of 29 per cent in Airtel, which would be valued at around $33 billion.
The telco has been selling shares in Airtel for a while, including a direct 3.3 per cent stake sale for S$2.54 billion in 2022.
The group expects to gain $700 million from the stake sale.
SingTel has been making continuous efforts to improve shareholder returns, such as raising dividend to between 70 per cent and 90 per cent of underlying net profit in November last year.
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