Telecom major Bharti Airtel has started the process of taking its wholly-owned subsidiary Bharti Hexacom public, a media report stated. The move is aimed at facilitating an exit to Telecommunication Consultants of India Limited (TCIL), which has a 30% stake in the company and is a Government of India enterprise, the report said.
The report further said Bharti Hexacom’s valuation is likely to be pegged at Rs 20,000 crore and the listing process will likely be completed by early 2024.
Bharti Airtel’s holding in Bharti Hexacom stands at 70%.
Incorporated on April 20, 1995, Bharti Hexacom is into telecommunication business in Rajasthan and North East Circle. The company claims to be the largest mobile telephony services in Rajasthan and the North Eastern regions of India. It also provides fixed-line and broadband services in the state.
If the initial public offering (IPO) gets launched, it will be the first in over a decade that a Bharti Group company will launch its public issue. The last IPO to have come out from the Bharti Group was Bharti Infratel now known as Indus Towers. The company was listed in 2012.
Meanwhile, The Economic Times on Tuesday reported that the likely IPO by the company is in view of raising funds. Bharti Airtel is exploring around a $1-billion (approximately Rs 8,330 crore) fundraise, including a potential offshore bonds issue, to prepay a bulk of its remaining dues relating to spectrum bought in the 2015 auction, the report said.
Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel needs to clear around Rs 12,000 crore of deferred liabilities (inclusive of 10% annual interest) pertaining to spectrum buys in the 2015 auction, according to company officials.
“They (Bharti Airtel) have been intermittently making enquiries about the most cost-effective way to raise the funds and whether or not to tap the bond route…That decision hinges on whether the current environment for dollar funds is competitive enough vis-a-vis the domestic market,” a senior banker aware of the matter told ET. “In the past, sometimes they have opted for NCDs and tapped into mutual funds.”
Refinancing of high-cost spectrum debt will help Airtel save on annual interest costs, fortify its balance sheet, and boost cash flows even as it rapidly expands 5G coverage and looks to offer the next-gen mobile broadband services nationally in a few months, people aware of the matter said.
India’s second-largest telco is likely to engage with top global banks including Barclays and Citi later this month to decide on the preferred fundraising mode and pricing, people aware of the matter said.
“Talks between Airtel and several foreign banks will start shortly. Both sides will try to zero in on the specific financial instrument and its pricing for the proposed offshore fundraise,” one of the people cited above said.
Another person said Airtel, if required, may even tap its other available option of accessing a portion of its remaining rights issue proceeds to prepay some of its 2015 spectrum auction dues. Airtel had raised only Rs 5,247 crore in the first tranche of its Rs 21,000-crore rights issue two years ago, and accordingly, can access some of the balance 75% via additional calls.
Airtel, Barclays and Citi did not respond to ET queries.
