Bharti Airtel, an Indian international telecommunications service company, plans to raise its stake in Airtel Africa through a INR 282 billion (US$ 2.9 billion) share-swap deal that will increase its holding in the African business to 79 percent from 62.7 percent.
Earlier this month, the Bharti Airtel board approved the issuance of 146.8 million shares at INR 1,923 (US$ 19.24) each to Indian Continent Investment on a preferential basis. In exchange, Bharti Airtel will acquire Indian Continent Investment’s 16.31 percent stake in Airtel Africa.
Bharti Airtel is controlled by billionaire Sunil Mittal, who has expanded the group’s international investments beyond telecom operations in India and Africa. The Mittal family also holds a stake in OneWeb and, in 2024, a Bharti Enterprises unit acquired a 24.5 percent stake in BT Group. Nxtra by Airtel is also part of the wider group, and represents its data center arm. Airtel has also landed international subsea cables in Mumbai and Chennai.
In its mandatory disclosure before India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Airtel said, “The equity shares shall be issued at a price of INR 1,923 per share, well above the floor price in terms of SEBI ICDR Regulations, and is based on the valuation report obtained by the Company from independent registered valuer, certifying the swap ratio.”
It further said, “The Board recognized that the Transaction is in line with the objective of consolidating / strengthening shareholding in a strategic subsidiary. Apart from being cash-less and leverage neutral, the Transaction is accretive to EPS of Airtel India with additional earnings outweighing the dilution. Additionally, for the purpose of this swap transaction, the shares of Airtel India are proposed to be issued at a premium of 9.5 percent to the last closing price prior to the Relevant Date and the corresponding shares of Airtel Africa shall be acquired at 11.6 percent discount to the last closing price prior to Relevant Date.”
These disclosures have been mandated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018 (‘SEBI ICDR Regulations’). The transaction would be cashless and leverage-neutral and the deal is subject to shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting and regulatory clearances.
Airtel Africa operates telecom and mobile payments services across 14 African countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania and Madagascar. The company reported net profit of US$ 813 million for the year ended March 2026, more than double the previous year, while revenue rose 24 percent to US$ 6.4 billion and its subscriber base grew 10 percent to 185 million.