Bharti Airtel Rights Issue Worth 21k Cr to Open on Oct 5

According to a regulatory filing, Bharti Airtel Rights Issue worth Rs. 21,000 crore will open on 5th October. Also, the telco has bookmarked 28th September as the record date for rights entitlement in the issue.

Bharti Airtel Rights Issue Goes Live on 5th October

Last month, the company's board had a meeting, approving the rights issue to raise up to Rs. 21,000 crore. The telco had fixed the price at Rs. 535 per share, which includes a premium of Rs. 230. Also, the telco has set the rights entitlement issue as one equity share for every 14 shares held by eligible shareholders on 28th September, the record date. Currently, the public holds 44.09% in the telco, while the promoters hold about 55.8%.

Bharti Airtel rights issue will look to raise the much-needed cash for the telco to compete with Jio and Vi.

The international ratings agency S&P had recently maintained Airtel's credit rating at "BBB-". S&P had upgraded the outlook to stable from negative. This indicated the company's improved ability to pay back debt. The ratings agency also noted a lack of tariff hikes, but said that Airtel's mobile segment will likely grow at a healthy rate.

S&P also said that the telco's ARPU might also pick up, after the recent slow quarters. Notably, the telco has a debt of around Rs. 1.59 lakh crore. Also, given the recent reforms to give the industry a much-needed push, the situation can only get better.