Sunil Bharti Mittal's Bharti Telecom Ltd. is reportedly considering a substantial raise of up to 80 billion rupees ($961 million) through the local-currency bond market, individuals with knowledge of the development told Bloomberg.
Bharti Telecom Ltd. is anticipated to invite bids this week for bonds with maturities of two, three, and five years, as per undisclosed sources due to the confidential nature of the information. Should the transaction be successful, it would represent Bharti Telecom's most substantial rupee issuance to date, according to Bloomberg's compiled data.
The telecom company is entering the bond market while its subsidiary, Bharti Airtel Ltd., the second-largest wireless carrier in India, is in the process of launching 5G services nationwide. This move is part of Bharti Airtel's efforts to compete with its rival, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
This issuance marks Bharti Airtel's return to the domestic market after an absence of nearly a year. The last onshore market activity was in December of the previous year when it generated 32 billion rupees through three-year notes.
In the early trading session on November 29, Bharti Airtel shares rose more than 2 per cent, reaching an all-time high of Rs 1,007. This marks the first instance of the stock the Rs 1,000 milestone and elevates the market capitalization to Rs 5.8 lakh crore.
On a year-to-date basis, the shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd. have soared to more than 22 per cent or 181 points on the National Stock Exchange.
