Airtel is Raising Funds from Overseas, May Bid for OneWeb, Tower Co, Meger Delayed

For last few posts by me here are all regarding Jio and its fundraising. Let get back to Jio's most commendable competitor - yes, that's Airtel. The rivalry on telecom turf between Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal is pretty old. And Ambani's comeback to Indian telecom was a supercharged show. But Airtel is not just sitting idle, and they are fighting back - ARPU is growing, and stock market value is increasing. But incumbents Airtel and Vodafone Idea both are now stuck by huge AGR dues as directed by Supreme Court. 

I will share all latest development in Airtel in this post. 

After Jio started its stake sale, there was market rumor that Google may invest in Vodafone Idea, while Amazon may invest in Airtel. However none came true so far. 

Bharti to bid for Satellite firm OneWeb

Sunil Mittal headed Bharti Enterprise plans to own a bigger pie of OneWeb, the satellite firm of London. In 2015 Airtel invested in it for a minority stake, while big investors' list include Virgin Group, Qualcomm, SoftBank, Airbus, Coca-Cola Company, Grupo Salinas, and Intelsat. Bharti Enterprise owned telco Airtel had plans to offer in-flight internet using OneWeb's satellites. The original plan to go active in 2019, that was delayed and in March end, 2020 OneWeb filed for bankruptcy. 

OneWeb's competitors include Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink project and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper.

Bharti may sell Data Center Biz to Carlyle

Bharti's wholly owned data center business, Nxtra Data may also see a new investor. PE firm Carlyle plans to acquire 20% of Nxtra with investment of Rs 1500-2000 cr. 

Airtel Startup Accelerator Program - picking up strategic stake in start ups

In May 2020 Airtel invested in Gurugram based conversional AI focused start up, VoiceZen for 10% strategic stake under Airtel Startup Accelerator Program. 

Airtel is changing its business direction via its Startup Accelerator Program to invest strategically in potential tech startup. First investment was made in October 2019 in Bengaluru based Vahan, which works on AI powered bots for 8.8% stake. 

In March Airtel invested in digital content & fitness company Spectacom Global for 10% stake. 

In June, 2020 Airtel acquired 10% stake in Mumbai based edu-tech startup Lattu Media. 

If you consider COVID-19 gives an opportunity to grow differently, as work-from-home culture is growing rapidly, all investments in these start-ups seem so perfect for Airtel. 

Airtel Payment Bank Growing

Airtel's Payment Bank is also going bigger. In FY20 its valuation is Rs 474 cr with 87% growth. 

Merger of Indus Towers & Bharti Infratel Delayed Again

Airtel India is waiting for major cash in-flow from merger of Indus Towers & Bharti Infratel. Presently Bharti & Vodafone Plc owns 42% of Indus, 11.15% by Vodafone-Idea, and Providence 4.85%.

Airtel holds 53.5% shares of Bharti Infratel, while 10% is held by KKR/CPPIB and 35.5% is public. The merger between Indus & Bharti Infratel was announced in April 2018 and deadline delayed 6 times. Now deadline is set by 31st August, 2020. 

It's obvious cash-stripped Vodafone-Idea would leave the merged entity and the money they would earn from the exit would be used for AGR payments and strengthening company's financial structure. 

Massive Content for Airtel's Digital Platform Xtream

To create grand content delivery system over Airtel Xtream app, Airtel is in collaboration with ALTBalaji (2018), StarTV (2018), HoiChoi (2018), Lionsgate and Starzplay (Dec 2019), CuriosityStream (April 2020), Zee5 (May 2020). 

Airtel raised $ 3B from QIP & FCCB

In January '20. Airtel through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) raised $2 billion, and another $1 billion through an issue of foreign currency convertible bonds. 

SingTel may Pick up more stakes in Airtel

In the quarter ending September '19, Airtel's largest foreign stakeholder Singtel noted first loss. Of Rs 3530 cr loss it pointed out Airtel. But Airtel came back in the domestic turf, against Jio. The effort Airtel put in, was praised by Singtel Group CEO Chua Sock Koong, “Notwithstanding the court ruling, Airtel has made positive strides in the wake of the recent industry consolidation, gaining market share, and increasing mobile service revenue for a third straight quarter.”

Bharti Telecom is the main promoter of Airtel India (41%), while foreign entities have 21% and 37% owned by public. SingTel holds 48% of Bharti Telecom and remaining 52% is owned by Sunil Mittal led Bharti Enterprises. 

In December '19, Airtel has planned to raise Rs 4,900 cr from SingTel and other foreign investors, which would make Bharti Telecom as foreign entity and total foreign investment will go upto 85%. 

Airtel's Customer Outreach Campaign

In June 2020, Airtel announced customer outreach campaign, leaving no stone untouched to continue to offer best services to Indian customers. 

Funds for African Operations - Stake Sale of Helios Towers

Airtel is also raising funds for its global operations. Helios Towers, UK based tower company which was founded in 2009 by Bharti Airtel, Millicom and George Soros currently serves in Africa (Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Ghana and South Africa) with nearly 7000 towers. In end of June '20 Bharti Airtel’s Mauritius-based arm, Network i2i, has sold its 2.3% stake in Helios Towers for £36.9 million (Rs 347.5 crore approx) to cut debts. 

Past updates on Airtel:

Airtel to go eco-friendly as they picked up stakes in AMPSolar

Airtel is Concentrating into Betterment of Networks & Enterprise Business - deals with Google for G-Suite, Ceragon (microwave backhaul solutions), Nokia and IBM-Red Hat.