Singtel sells off another $1.5B stake in Bharti Airtel

　　Singtel has sold off another stake in Bharti Airtel as it continues its capital recycling program. It has shed 1.2% of its holding in the Indian telco for 2 billion Singapore dollars (US$1.54 billion), the company revealed Friday.

　　The sale was completed via a private placement to institutional investors, including existing Airtel shareholders, Singtel said, adding that the placement had been oversubscribed.

　　It is the third time in three years that Singtel has unloaded a small parcel of Bharti shares as it seeks to extract some of the value it has built from its industry investments. The funds are deployed in its capex programs or in fresh equity investments and partnerships.

　　It had raised around SG$3.5 billion ($2.7 billion) from sales of Airtel holdings in previous transactions. In 2022 it sold off a 3.3% stake to Bharti Telecom – Airtel's biggest shareholder – and last year disposed of 0.8% to US-based, ASX-listed investment firm, GQG Partners.

　　Following the latest deal, Singtel will own a 28.3% stake in Airtel, valued at around SG$48 billion ($37 billion). The sale generated a gain of around SG$1.4 billion ($1.1 billion), Singtel said.

　　Crystalize value

　　"This transaction allows us to crystallize value at an attractive valuation while remaining a significant shareholder of Airtel," Singtel Group CFO Arthur Lang said. "The divestment underscores Singtel’s commitment to disciplined capital allocation and sustained value realization for shareholders."

　　He said active capital management and maximizing financial flexibility were key principles of the telco's Singtel28 growth program and were "integral to funding growth initiatives while supporting capital returns."

　　The selloffs had helped to support the company's 5G deployment and digital infrastructure expansion and to fund shareholder dividends. Singtel28 has set a mid-term target of SG$6 billion (US$4.6 billion) in asset recycling.

　　The Singapore company is one of the world's most geographically diversified telcos, with investments across the region in operators such as Optus, Globe Telecom and Telkomsel that are first or second in their respective markets.