Airtel | Google
Mumbai: Bharti Airtel shareholders have given their nod to the issue of equity shares by the firm to Google on “a preferential basis” after the US-based tech giant’s recent acquisition of a 1.28 percent stake in the telco for $700 million.
They have also cleared the telco’s roadmap to spend a mammoth Rs 1.17 lakh-crore in related-party expenses, including opex, via joint venture, Indus Towers, and subsidiaries – Nxtra Data and Bharti Hexacom – over the next four years.
“The resolutions (as part of special businesses) were approved with a 99.99% overwhelming majority at Airtel’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on February 26,” the Sunil Mittal-led telco said in an exchange filing.
In January, Bharti Airtel and Google are going to partner to boost India's digital ecosystem with the US-based tech giant investing up to $1 billion under its Google for India Digitization Fund.
This included Google's acquisition of 1.28 percent ownership in Airtel with a $700 million equity investment at a price per share of Rs 734.
Further, Google's investment in Airtel will include up to $300 million that will go towards implementing commercial agreements, which will include investments in scaling Airtel’s offerings that cover a range of devices to consumers via innovative affordability programs as well as other offerings aimed at accelerating access and digital inclusion across India’s digital ecosystem.
A senior Airtel executive also said that the telco’s Rs 1.17 lakh-crore material related-party expenses, including opex spends over the next four years, would include Rs 88,000 crore in business with tower JV, Indus, Rs 15,000 crore for availing the services of data-centre arm, Nxtra and related-party transactions of up to Rs 14,000 crore with Bharti Hexacom, an Economic Times report stated.
Google’s investment is also expected to boost Airtel’s war chest as India’s second-largest carrier readies to participate in the upcoming 5G airwaves sale likely around May-June, and subsequent network rollouts, according to the analysts, the report added.
On Friday, Airtel announced the acquisition of a 4.7 percent stake in Indus from Vodafone Group Plc in cash, which will increase its holding in the tower company to 46.43 percent.
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