Bharti Airtel rallies 3% as Co launches $2 billion QIP for AGR dues

Shares of Bharti Airtel were up 3 per cent to Rs 474 on the BSE on Thursday after the company launched its $2 billion (Rs 14,350 crore) equity issuance to institutional investors. It has fixed floor price of Rs 452.09 for qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue. The stock has rallied 6 per cent in the past two trading days on the QIP buzz.

“The floor price of the equity shares being offered in the issue, and resolved that the Committee may, at its absolute discretion, offer a discount of not more than 5 per cent on the floor price,” Bharti Airtel said in an exchange filing.

The country’s second-biggest wireless telephony major proposed to pay the AGR (adjusted gross revenues) dues to the central government within the January 23 deadline set by the Supreme Court. The company will also raise an additional $1 billion (Rs 7,155 crore) as convertible bonds due in 2025.

Bharti Airtel, in preliminary placement document, said it "proposes to utilize the net proceeds for any payments that may be required to be made, arising out of the a judgment of the Supreme Court of India delivered on October 24, 2019 in relation to a long outstanding industry wide case in respect of the definition of AGR."

The proceeds are also proposed to be used to augment its long term resources and strengthen its balance sheet, for servicing and/or repayment of short term and long term debts, capital expenditures, long term working capital requirements of the company and refinancing of existing borrowings, it said.

At 09:43 am, Bharti Airtel was trading 1 per cent higher at Rs 464 on the BSE. The counter has seen huge trading volumes with a combined 4.93 million equity shares changing hands in first half-an-hour on the NSE and BSE. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 486 on December 2, 2019.