Bharti Airtel board approves raising up to Rs 7,500 crore via debt instruments

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel’s board on Tuesday gave an enabling approval for raising up to Rs 7,500 crore through debt instruments.

The board has also authorised the Special Committee of Directors to decide (based on market conditions) on all matters related to such issuance of securities, including finalisation and approval of terms and conditions, quantum of tranche, and the timing.

In a regulatory filing, Airtel said its the Board of Directors in its meeting on Tuesday reviewed the company’s routine financing and re-financing strategies, including any market maturities in due course.

It has “granted enabling approvals for such re-financing vide debt instruments (as and when deemed appropriate) through issuance of secured/ unsecured, listed/unlisted non-convertible debt securities including debentures, bonds etc. upto Rs 7,500 crores (or in equivalent foreign currency) in one or more tranches from time to time…subject to all applicable regulatory/ statutory approvals,” the company said.

Last month, Bharti Airtel had announced that tech titan Google will invest as much as $1 billion in the company for picking up a 1.28 per cent stake and scaling up offerings of India’s second-largest mobile phone operator. PTI