SingTel to invest $ 2.47 billion in Bharti, Intouch

Singapore Telecom is spending $ 2.47 billion Singapore Dollars to buy stakes in Bharti Telecom and Intouch Holdings, the company said. 

It said that the company has entered into conditional share purchase agreements with Temasek to acquire 21% of Intouch Holdings Public Company LimitTed (Intouch) and 7.39% of Bharti Telecom for a total consideration of S$2.47 billion.

This transaction will be funded via internal cash, short-term debt and proceeds from a share placement of 386 million new Singtel shares to Temasek worth $1.605 billion at a price of $4.16 per new share. 

"It is an unique opportunity for us to deepen our relationships with two great market leaders," said Chua Sock Koong, Singtel Group CEO.

Intouch is the largest shareholder in Thailand’s largest mobile operator Advanced Info Services Public Company Limited (AIS). 

Bharti Telecom is the holding company of Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel) - India’s largest telecommunications company which has operations in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa. 

Share price of Bharti Airtel traded up 0.7% on BSE Sensex at 10.21 hours on Thursday. 

“Thailand, India and Africa continue to be attractive, high-growth markets for us. As a Group, we enjoy great synergies, economies of scale, and collaborative innovation,” added Koong. 

Singtel will pay Temasek thai baht (THB) of  60.83 for each share of Intouch and Rs 235.62 for each share of Bharti Telecom. The transaction is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent, including shareholder and relevant regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed by December 2016.