A Bharti group company has acquired 4.99 per cent direct holding in Bharti Airtel, the largest private sector telecom company, from Vodafone.
With this, the Bharti group companies had enhanced their voting interest in Bharti Airtel to over 50 per cent, the company said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Bharti had said it would buy 5.6 per cent from Vodafone for $1.6 billion. Based on this price, Bharti will have to fork out $1.42 billion (Rs 5,600 crore) for the 4.99 per cent stake.
Vodafone, which bought a 67 per cent stake in Hutchison-Essar recently, had to reduce its stake in Bharti Airtel from 10 per cent to conform to telecom guidelines.
Last month, Temasek Holdings signed an agreement under which it has the option of acquiring a 4.99 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel from the Bharti group. Based on that day's market price, this holding is equivalent to Rs 8,200 crore (Rs 82 billion).
The Bharti group companies will now hold 50 per cent in Bharti Airtel, while Singtel will control over 31 per cent, Vodafone 5 per cent and Temasek 4.99 per cent. The rest is held by the public and other institutions.
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