Bharti Airtel to acquire Vodafone's 4.7% stake in Indus Tower

Bharti Airtel on Friday announced that it has entered into an agreement with Vodafone to buy 4.7 per cent equity interest in Indus Towers. The agreement is based on the principal condition that the amount paid shall be inducted by Vodafone as fresh equity in Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) and simultaneously remitted to Indus Towers to clear VIL's outstanding dues.

The said acquisition purchase would be at an attractive price representing a significant discount typically available for such large block transactions.

The block deal will be executed through Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., an affiliate of Vodafone Group Plc.

In addition, Airtel is also protected with a capped price that is lower than the price for the block of Indus shares sold by Vodafone on February 24, 2022. This shall be value accretive to Airtel and protect its existing significant shareholding in Indus Towers.

Any such acquisition shall only be done when such proceeds are confirmed to be utilised by Vodafone to infuse as equity into VIL including any regulatory or shareholders' approval being fully obtained.

The company in a statement said, "We believe this transaction allows Airtel to secure continued strong provision of services from Indus Towers, protects and enhances Airtel's value in Indus Towers, enables it to receive rich dividends and as also paves the way for subsequent financial consolidation of Indus Towers in Airtel. We believe that this self-paying capital allocation serves multiple strategic purposes for Airtel."

Airtel remains committed to looking at opportunities for monetizing this vital asset at an appropriate time. In doing so it will ensure that the tower company has been stabilized and any new strategic or financial investor/s has the ability to continue to serve the critical needs of Airtel.