As per media reports, Vodafone Group was to sell almost 18% stake in Indus Towers for up to $2 billion. The shares of Indus Towers have exchanged hands in the price range of Rs 310 and Rs 341 apiece, the reports added.
In 2022, Vodafone had reportedly announced its intention to sell its entire stake in Indus Towers.
On the basis of the intraday movement of Indus Towers scrip, the block deal seems to have taken place in the initial period of today’s trading session.
On the NSE, the stock opened 4.48% lower today at Rs 329.1 compared to its previous close of Rs 344.55. It then witnessed a steeper decline, reaching a day's low of Rs 320.6, marking a 9.62% drop from its previous close.
However, value buying emerged at these lower levels, prompting a partial recovery. The stock climbed 7.26% from its intraday low and closed the day at Rs 334.40.
Over 83.21 crore shares of Indus Towers changed hands at the counter on the NSE, a massive jump compared to the average daily volume of 1.80 crore shares in the past three months.
Trading volume surged on the BSE as well. More than 4.61 crore shares were traded today, which is a significant increase when compared to the average daily trading volume of 6.67 lakh shares for the past three months.
In a regulatory filing made during market hours today, Bharti Airtel, one of the promoters of Indus Towers, said that the ‘special committee of directors for evaluation of stake in subsidiaries and joint ventures’ today (June 19) has approved the acquisition of upto 27 million equity stake in Indus Towers.
Accordingly, Bharti Airtel has acquired nearly 26.95 million (i.e. 1%) equity shares of Indus Towers today on-market.
Bharti Airtel has held over 129.22 crore share, representing 47.95% stake, in Indus Towers as on 31 March 2024.
Indus Towers is India's leading provider of passive telecom infrastructure and it deploys, owns and manages telecom towers and communication structures, for various mobile operators.
The company's consolidated net profit had risen 32.45% to Rs 1,853.10 crore on a 6.52% increase in revenue to Rs 7,193.20 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared to Q4 FY23.