Bharti Infratel, the towerco arm of Indian operator Bharti Airtel, is likely to launch its long-awaited IPO next month.
As TelecomFinance previously reported, Bharti Infratel filed a preliminary IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of…
Bharti Infratel, the towerco arm of Indian operator Bharti Airtel, is likely to launch its long-awaited IPO next month.
As TelecomFinance previously reported, Bharti Infratel filed a preliminary IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in September.
The company is expected to get approval from the capital markets regulator as early as Friday and float on 10 December, according to three sources cited in Reuters today.
“Bharti Infratel has already done the preliminary work and it is now in the Q&A stage with SEBI,” an analyst with close knowledge of the company told TelecomFinance.
“I would expect an IPO in the first or second week of December, so 10 December could be accurate,” he continued, in response to the Reuters report.
The share sale is expected to raise up to US$900m.
India’s telecoms industry has struggled to attract investors in recent times due to the scandals overshadowing the 3G auction, but the analyst said he thought this IPO could attract interest.
“A large part depends on the valuations,” he said. “I wouldn’t say all investors are clamouring to tap into the telecoms market, but if the pricing is right, at around 7x or 8x EBITDA, I would assume there would be demand.”
