Airtel board okays 'call' of Rs 401.25 a share on remaining Rs 15,700 cr portion of rights issue

New Delhi: The board of telecom operator Bharti Airtel has approved the ‘first and final call’ of Rs 401.25 per share on 39.2 crore partly paid-up equity shares, that form over Rs 15,700 crore portion of its remaining rights issue.

The proceeds from the call on the partly paid-up equity shares will be used primarily for pre-payment/repayment of borrowings (including accrued interest) and general corporate purposes. With this, and along with its organic cash generation, the company's India operations are expected to become effectively net debt-free in the near term except for DoT (Department of Telecom) liabilities and finance lease obligations, strengthening the telco's balance sheet, the company said.

"...the Board of Directors of the company...has approved first and final call of Rs 401.25 per share (including a premium of Rs 397.50) on 392,287,662 outstanding partly paid-up equity shares of face value of INR 5 each (paid-up value of INR 1.25 each), issued by the company on a rights basis pursuant to Letter of Offer dated September 22, 2021," Airtel said in a filing on Thursday evening.

The Board has fixed February 6, 2026 as the record date for the purpose of determining the holders of the partly paid-up equity shares who shall be liable to pay the money on the first call. The Call payment period will commence on March 2, 2026 and end on March 16, 2026.

Trading in partly paid-up equity shares of the company on the stock exchanges will be suspended with effect from February 6, 2026, it said.