On Friday, Bharti Airtel witnessed a large block deal where 1.3% equity of the company changed hands. Around 3.1 crore shares were traded at an average price of Rs 1,820 per share, which was about 2.5% lower than the stock’s closing price on Thursday.
The deal involved Singapore-based telecom company Singtel, which reduced its stake in Bharti Airtel through its investment arm, Pastel. As of March 2025, Pastel held a 9.49% stake in Airtel.
Singtel said it sold nearly 1.2% of its direct holding in Airtel to raise around $2 billion. This was part of its plan to manage its asset portfolio better and improve shareholder returns. The shares were sold via private placement to both Indian and foreign institutional investors, including some who already hold shares in Airtel.
Singtel Group CFO Arthur Lang explained that the transaction enabled them to realise value from Airtel on a solid valuation while retaining significant stake. He noted that this is in line with Airtel’s long-term growth and reflects their commitment to disciplined capital utilization as part of their Singtel28 growth strategy.
Singtel still retains a 28.3% holding in Bharti Airtel following this transaction. The residual stake is approximately valued at S$48 billion, and Singtel is set to gain S$1.4 billion in profit from this sale.
Bharti Airtel recently reported a sharp 432% jump in net profit, at Rs 11,022 crore in Q4FY25, up from Rs 2,072 crore in the same period last year. The company also declared a final dividend of Rs 16 per share in FY25. Airtel’s top line grew 27% to Rs 47,876 crore in the same period.
It had an average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 245 in Q4FY25 compared with Rs 209 in the same period last year. It also increased its network by adding 3,300 new towers and 13,600 mobile broadband stations in the quarter.
At the time of writing, shares of Bharti Airtel were trading at Rs 1,818.6 on NSE, down 2.6%.
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Source: Moneycontrol.
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