Airtel to seek shareholders' nod to issue 3.64 cr shares to LMIL for Bharti Telemedia deal

Bharti Airtel will seek shareholders' nod on March 19 for issuance of about 3.64 crore equity shares of the company to Lion Meadow Investment Ltd (LMIL) on a preferential basis, to execute its deal for buying an additional 20 percent stake in its DTH arm Bharti Telemedia, according to a regulatory filing.

As per the contours of the recently-announced deal, Bharti Airtel will acquire a 20 percent stake in Bharti Telemedia from Warburg Pincus affiliate, LMIL, for about Rs 3,126 crore.

The transaction will be discharged primarily via issuance of about 3.64 crore equity shares of Airtel for Rs 600 per share and up to Rs 1,037.8 crore in cash, Bharti Airtel had stated earlier.

In a BSE filing, Bharti Airtel said an Extraordinary General Meeting of the company will be held on March 19, 2021 ''to seek the approval of the members on the proposal of 'Issuance of equity shares of the company on the preferential basis' through Special Resolution''.

The company will seek shareholders' approval to ''create, offer, issue and allot up to 36,469,913 equity shares of the face value of Rs 5 each fully paid up, on a preferential basis to LMIL''. This would be as partial consideration other than in cash, for the sale of 102,040,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each fully paid up of Telemedia held by LMIL to the company at Rs 600 per equity share, the filing said.