Bharti Airtel may sell 3% stake in Infratel

Airtel is reportedly weighing the sale to cut its net debt

Bharti Airtel, India’s largest wireless carrier, is considering selling about a three per cent stake in its tower unit through an institutional share sale, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The New Delhi-based company could pare its holding in Bharti Infratel as soon as this month, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Airtel is weighing the sale to cut its net debt, one of the people said. The shares are worth about Rs 22.4 billion ($350 million) based on Tuesday’s closing price, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Shares of Bharti Infratel fell as much as 1.9 per cent on Wednesday. They were trading down 1.4 per cent to Rs 398.05 at 3:19 pm in Mumbai, on track for the lowest close in a month. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.3 per cent. Competition has been intensifying in the world’s second-largest smartphone market, as the entry of a new operator backed by billionaire Mukesh Ambani prompted rivals to slash tariffs and consolidate. 

A planned combination of Vodafone Group’s Indian unit with Idea Cellular will topple Airtel as the dominant mobile-phone operator in the nation. No final decisions have been made, and there’s no certainty the deliberations will result in a transaction, the people said. A spokesman for Airtel declined to comment.