Airtel waives off first right of refusal for TCIL's stake in Bharti Hexacom
Bharti Airtel has waived off its right of first refusal (RoFR) to acquire state-owned Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd’s 30% stake in Bharti Hexacom as it sees no immediate value in such a move, analysts said, quoting the telco’s senior management.
Last month, Bharti Airtel subsidiary, Bharti Hexacom, had filed a draft offer document with Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to sell a 20% stake of TCIL which will provide the government a partial exit. TCIL’s holding will drop to 10% after Bharti Hexacom’s initial public offer (IPO), while parent company, Bharti Airtel, will retain its 70% stake in the unit.
“Bharti’s management mentioned that Airtel had a right of first refusal to acquire this 30% stake (in Bharti Hexacom) owned by the government via TCIL, but they waived off this right as of now as the telco doesn’t see any value in acquiring the stake from the market, post-Bharti Hexacom listing),” BofA Securities said in a note seen by ET.
BofA added that Airtel’s management believes that a potential Bharti Hexacom initial public offer (IPO), over any other method, would provide transparency in pricing, which is a key requisite of the government when it requires to fully sell its stake in Airtel’s subsidiary.
BofA had participated in an analyst meet hosted by Bharti Hexacom on February 12 in the run-up to the latter’s listing.
The global brokerage said it does not see any impact on Airtel from any potential listing of Bharti Hexacom as the Sunil Mittal-led parent is not reducing its stake in
