Private equity firm KKR has sold its entire 2.5% stake in Indian towerco Bharti Infratel.
A spokesperson confirmed KKR’s full exit from Infratel, controlled by telecoms giant Bharti Airtel. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays advised on the…
Private equity firm KKR has sold its entire 2.5% stake in Indian towerco Bharti Infratel.
A spokesperson confirmed KKR’s full exit from Infratel, controlled by telecoms giant Bharti Airtel. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays advised on the transaction. She declined to provide further details.
The Economic Times reported that KKR had sold the shares via a series of block trades on the stock market over the past month, reaping an 80% return on its initial investment in rupee terms.
KKR first invested in Infratel, which is listed on the Bombay and National stock exchanges, in February 2008, paying US$250m. With Infratel’s share price hovering between Rs375 and Rs390 over the past month, the investment firm is likely to have raised about Rs17bn.
Infratel declined to comment.
Bharti Airtel raised more than Rs21bn (US$350m) from the sale of a 4.5% stake in Infratel on the Bombay and national stock exchanges in August 2014.
Infratel, which was listed for US$760m in late 2012, is looking to extend its footprint across Asia as more operators prepare to offload towers. The company has over 36,000 standalone towers across 18 states and 11 service areas in India.
