Shares of India’s telecom giant Bharti Airtel tumbled sharply today following a large stake sale by one of its key promoter entities, raising nearly ₹7,190 crore. This marks the latest in a series of strategic moves by Airtel’s long-term shareholders to monetize their holdings.
Indian Continent Investment Ltd (ICIL), managed by telecom billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal’s family office, sold 3.43 crore shares, representing a 0.56% stake, through a block deal on Wednesday. The shares were offered at a floor price of ₹2,096.70 each—a 3% discount to Tuesday’s closing price of ₹2,161.60 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The $806 million (≈₹7,189.2 crore) transaction, facilitated by Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, immediately impacted Airtel’s stock. On the NSE, the scrip dropped about 3% to ₹2,097.50.
This is the third significant block deal by Airtel’s promoter entities in the past six months, highlighting a phased approach to monetize holdings and increase the company’s free float. Following the sale, ICIL’s stake in Airtel fell from 1.48% to 0.92%, while the combined promoter holding—including Bharti Telecom Ltd and Singapore Telecom’s Pastel Ltd—now sits just below 50%.
Earlier in August, ICIL had sold nearly 1% of its stake, worth ₹11,227 crore, and in February, it offloaded Airtel shares valued at ₹8,485 crore. Additionally, Singtel recently divested around 0.8% of Airtel for S$1.5 billion (≈₹10,353 crore).
Despite the market reaction, Airtel has been reporting robust growth. In the September quarter, the company’s consolidated net profit rose to ₹6,792 crore, with revenue climbing to ₹52,145 crore, driven by premium subscriber growth and 5G adoption.