Hot stock: Singtel up as much as 4.5% on rumoured Bharti Airtel stake sale

Michelle Zhu

Published Thu, May 26, 2022 · 03:25 PM

SHARES of Singtel : Z74 0% made steady gains on Thursday (May 26) after the Economic Times reported it initiated talks with Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal, to potentially sell a “small” part of its holding in the Indian telco to the Mittal family.

As at 1.44 pm on Thursday, Singtel shares rose to an intra-day high of S$2.76, up S$0.12 or 4.5 per cent with some 27.9 million shares traded. The counter closed 3.4 per cent or S$0.09 higher at S$2.73.

Two married deals were recorded, according to ShareInvestor data. One was transacted at S$2.665 apiece in early trade at 9.16am, while the other took place at 2.23pm at S$2.725 per share.

Both Singtel and the Mittal family are shareholders in Bharti Telecom, as well as own direct shares directly in Bharti Airtel. Bharti Telecom is the promoter company of Bharti Airtel and a joint venture between Singtel and Mittal’s Bharti Group.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Economic Times on May 26 said the transaction could be worth about US$1-2 billion through a mix of both Bharti Telecom and Bharti Airtel shares - although the quantum and details of the transaction have yet to be worked out.

Selling US$1 billion of Bharti Airtel shares is estimated by the Indian daily to reduce Singtel’s holding by close to 2 per cent, to less than 30 per cent, while divesting shares worth US$2 billion would reduce Singtel’s holding by 4 per cent.