Airtel board to decide on fund raising via preferential route on Friday

The plan comes ahead of proposed 5G spectrum auction and is the second such exercise in three months. Last October the firm raised about Rs 21,000 cr via a rights issue

The board of Bharti Airtel will meet on Friday to evaluate a fund raising proposal, the company informed the stock exchange on Monday.

The fundraising plan comes ahead of the proposed 5G spectrum auction and is the second such exercise in three months. Last October the company raised around Rs 21,000 crore through a rights issue and has already garnered over Rs 5,200 crore from the first round of payment.

The board meeting will consider and evaluate the proposal for issuance of equity shares through preferential issue (other than to promoters/promoter group), it said in the notification.

Earlier this month, Bharti Airtel decided not to pursue its corporate restructuring exercise that could have led to merger of all digital assets into the listed entity and demerger of core telecom business into a separate subsidiary.

Airtel had cited improved investment outlook and simplified licence framework as reasons behind its decision of not pursuing corporate restructuring. Industry sources said regulatory headwinds have eased for telecom companies after the reforms package announced last October. It changed the definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), rationalised bank guarantees and provided additional moratorium for dues.