A global telecommunications services company, Bharti Airtel could raise another $3.5 Bn (Rs 24,500 Cr) from the sale of a reported stake in the soon-to-be-merged Indus Towers-Bharti Infratel entity. On Friday, Moody said that this would be coupled with the rights issue and the IPO of its Africa business, combining would help bring its debt-to-Etibda, or leverage, a ratio below 3.5 times by March 2020.
The Bharti Airtel after the inorganic fundraising steps, Bharti Airtel will “rely more heavily on organic cash flow from the Indian operations to ensure adequate financial flexibility going forward…” which will help sustain improvement in credit metrics, the rating agency said in a release.
“Sale of a significant stake in its tower assets would aid further debt reduction. We expect Bharti to ultimately sell a significant stake in the tower company formed from the merger of Infratel and Indus Tower Limited, although it may retain a minority stake,” Moody’s said.
Read EquityPandit’s Nifty Outlook for the Week