Bharti Airtel to raise up to Rs 21,000 crore via rights issue

Bharti Airtel Ltd. plans to raise up to Rs 21,000 crore through a rights share issue as it looks to bolster its balance sheet before rolling out its 5G network.

The company’s board approved issuing rights at Rs 535 per share in the ratio of 1 equity share for every 14 shares held by the shareholders as on the record date, according to its stock exchange filing. The record date will be notified later, it said.

A special committee of directors has been constituted to decide the terms and conditions of the issue. The network operator also stated that the promoter and promoter group will collectively subscribe to the full extent of their aggregate rights entitlement as well as unsubscribed shares in the issue.

Earlier, Jefferies in a note had said that any capital raise by Bharti Airtel in anticipation of “large market share shifts” from debt-laden Vodafone Idea Ltd. would be a positive.

The Sunil Mittal-owned carrier has been gaining subscribers, firmly placing it as the largest operator in the country. In June, it added the most active subscribers among peers.

Of the 33 analysts tracking the company, 32 have a ‘buy’ rating on Airtel. One has ‘hold’ recommendation. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 22.4%

Shares had closed 1.4% higher on Friday, compared to a 0.3% rise in the BSE Sensex. BloombergQuint