Indus Towers is set to become a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, which will hold a majority 50.005% stake (earlier 48.95%) in the telecom tower company, post-conclusion of the ₹2,640 crore share buyback exercise.
Indus Towers commenced the buyback of over 5.67 crore shares at ₹465 apiece on August 14, representing approximately 2.107% of total number of equity shares in the paid-up share capital. It ran from August 14 to August 21.
Indus Towers’ buyback committee on August 27 approved the basis of acceptance of 5,67,74,193 equity shares of face value of ₹10/- each, from the eligible shareholders, who tendered their shares for the buyback, as per the terms of and in the manner set out in the public announcement dated July 31, 2024, published on August 01, 2024, and the Letter of Offer dated August 12, 2024.
In June, Vodafone had sold 484.7 million shares or an 18% stake in Indus Towers for around ₹15,300 crore, through an accelerated book-build offering.
At that point in time, Bharti Airtel had increased its stake by acquiring 2.69 crore shares, representing a 1% stake, in Indus Towers. The shares were acquired by Airtel at an average price of ₹320 apiece, taking the transaction value to ₹862.38 crore.
Indus Towers had reported a consolidated profit of ₹1,925.9 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, a 42% increase year-on-year (YoY) as compared with ₹1,347.9 crore in the same period last year.
The consolidated revenue from operations also saw an increase of 4^ YoY to ₹7,439.4 crore, up from ₹7,132.4 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Shares of Indus Towers gained over 2% to an intra-day high of ₹447.40 on NSE on Wednesday, August 28, following news that it will become a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel. Airtel share price also rose by 25.
