Bharti Airtel shares drop nearly 3%, after Singtel announces stake sale

New Delhi: Shares of Bharti Airtel declined nearly 3 per cent on Friday after Singtel said it has sold about 1.2 per cent of its direct stake in the firm for SGD 2 billion (roughly USD 1.5 billion).

The stock dropped 2.81 per cent to Rs 1,814.35 on the BSE. During the day, it dived 3 per cent to Rs 1,810.10.

At the NSE, the company's stock declined 2.82 per cent to Rs 1,814.40.

The stock emerged as the biggest laggard among the Sensex and Nifty firms.

The company's market valuation eroded Rs 1,03,139.8 crore to Rs 10,34,561.48 crore.

Singtel on Friday said it has sold about 1.2 per cent of its direct stake in Bharti Airtel for SGD 2 billion (roughly USD 1.5 billion) in sync with its active capital management approach to optimise its asset portfolio and drive shareholder returns sustainably.

The transaction was executed via a private placement to international and Indian institutional investors, including existing shareholders of Airtel, Singtel said.

The private placement drew strong interest from existing shareholders and new investors and was well oversubscribed, resulting in both an increase in transaction size as well as tighter final pricing than initial guidance.

A large majority of the transactions were sold to domestic mutual funds and international long-only funds.

"Singtel has sold approximately 1.2 per cent of its direct stake in regional associate Airtel today for SGD 2.0 billion as part of its active capital management approach to optimise its asset portfolio and drive shareholder returns sustainably," Singtel said in its statement.