Bharti Airtel surges 6% after Vodafone stake sale

NEW DELHI | MUMBAI: Shares of Bharti Airtel ended the day at The stock ended the day at Rs 425.30; up 5.98%.
UK’s Vodafone Group Plc on Thursday said that it has sold its holding in Bharti Airtel, India’s top telecom operator, for $200 million (Rs1,280 crore) to Bharti Enterprises to conform with regulatory needs.

In a statement late on Thursday, the British telecom major said it has sold, through a whollyowned subsidiary, its shareholding in Bharti Infotel Private Ltd, “representing an approximate 4.2% interest in Bharti Airtel Ltd, to Bharti Enterprises (Holding) Private Limited for $200 million”.

“The disposal follows the new Unified Licence regime in India published by the Department of Telecoms, which prohibits the holding by a group of an interest in more than one licensee company in the same service area,” Vodafone said. The government rule is designed to discourage cartelisation in the telecom sector.

Vodafone’s Indian unit, the country’s No. 2 carrier, is Bharti Airtel’s closest competitor in the market. Vodafone had bought a 10% stake in Bharti Airtel in 2005 and sold a part of it in 2007 post its acquisition of Hutchison-Essar, now renamed Vodafone India. A Bharti spokesperson confirmed that Bharti Enterprises had bought the stake through one of its group companies.