SINGAPORE - Singapore Telecommunications has agreed to increase its effective stake in mobile phone operator Bharti Airtel to 31.95 percent from 30.43 percent, the company said.
SingTel has entered into a conditional agreement with Bharti Group to purchase an additional 730,000 shares in Bharti Telecom, which is the sponsor of the listed entity Bharti Airtel, the Singapore firm said in a statement late on Friday.
SingTel will make an estimated payment of between 18,073 million Indian rupees to 30,084 million Indian rupees ($641.3 million) for the purchase of additional shares of Bharti Telecom, the statement said.
The price difference is because the payment schedule is spread over more than a year after the agreement kicks in on Nov. 12.
Bharti Telecom has a stake of around 45.3 percent in Bharti Airtel.
On Friday Bharti Airtel gave a downbeat outlook due to a price war after posting its slowest pace of profit growth in at least six years, sending its shares down nearly 7 percent.
