Airtel Africa clears dues worth USD 450 million

Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV, which manages Airtel’s Africa business, has cleared dues worth USD 450 million (Rs 3,565 crore) by purchasing notes through a tender offer, the company said on Friday. The company had issued a tender offer to purchase USD 300 million worth of its 5.35 per cent guaranteed senior notes of USD 1 billion due 2024. The offer commenced on June 21 and will expire on July 19, 2022.

Later it raised a tender offer to buy back up to USD 450 million. “USD 450,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of Notes (representing 45 per cent of the total principal amount outstanding of the Notes) were cancelled on July 7, 2022. The aggregate principal amount of Notes that remain outstanding as of July 7, 2022, is USD 550,000,000,” Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing.

The company’s move to enhance the tender offer follows tendering of debt notes worth over USD 488 million by the bondholders. The company has come up with a tender offer to optimise its balance sheet and reduce debt. Consolidated net debt excluding lease obligations for Bharti Airtel stood at Rs 1,23,544 crore as of March 31, 2022, compared to Rs 1,15,512.4 crore in the year-ago period. PTI