Bharti Airtel board to consider fund raising on August 29, share price falls

Bharti Airtel share price shed 1 percent in the early trade on August 26 as the company said its board will meet on August 29 to consider fund raising.

“A meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on August 29, 2021, to consider various capital raising options,” company said in the release.

The board to consider capital raising options through equity or equity-linked debt instruments or any combination thereof including through rights issue, qualified institutions placement, preferential issue, convertible instruments issued domestically or foreign currency convertible bonds, or warrants on a preferential or marketed basis, or straight long dated debt in rupee or foreign currency or any other mode including any combination thereof, it added.

Foreign research house Jefferies has maintained buy call on Bharti Airtel with market share shifts set to accelerate. It kept a target of Rs 685 per share.

The capital raising announcement has come as a surprise, as it is to up capacity in anticipation of large market share shifts could be seen positively.

Any stake bought in Indus Towers may be seen negatively, while potential capital raise will be a near-term overhang, it added.

At 09:16 hrs, Bharti Airtel was quoting at Rs 605.95, down Rs 6.50, or 1.06 percent on the BSE.

The share touched a 52-week high of Rs 644 and a 52-week low of Rs 394.05 on 16 August, 2021 and 19 October, 2020, respectively.

Currently, it is trading 5.91 percent below its 52-week high and 53.77 percent above its 52-week low. Moneycontrol