Singtel said it sold approximately 1.2% of its direct stake in regional associate Airtel today (16 May 2025) for S$2.0 billion as part of its active capital management approach to optimise its asset portfolio and drive shareholder returns sustainably.
The media reported that Pastel, a unit of Singtel, sold 7.1 crore shares in Airtel at Rs 1,814 each, reflecting a 2.83% discount to the closing price of Airtel's stock on Thursday.
"The transaction was executed via a private placement to international and Indian institutional investors, including existing shareholders of Airtel. The private placement received strong interest from existing shareholders and new investors and was well oversubscribed, resulting in both an increase in transaction size as well as tighter final pricing than initial guidance. A large majority of the transaction was sold to domestic mutual funds and international long-only funds," Singtel said in a statement.
With this transaction, Singtel has trimmed its stake in Bharti Airtel to 28.3% from 29.5% earlier, having sold a 1.2% stake through these block deals.
Bharti Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 550 million customers in 15 countries across South Asia and Africa.
The telecom major's consolidated net profit soared 432.04% to Rs 11,021.8 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 2,071.6 crore reported in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 27.33% YoY to Rs 47,876.2 crore in Q4 FY25, driven by strong underlying momentum in India, a rebound in reported currency revenue growth in Africa and full quarter impact of Indus Towers consolidation. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for the quarter stood at Rs 245, up 17.78% over Rs 209 in Q4 FY24.