NEW DELHI: Shares of Bharti Airtel rose by over 4 per cent today after Singapore-based telecom operator Singtel said it will invest Rs 2,649 crore in Bharti Telecom, raising its stake by 1.7 per cent.
The scrip gained 4.20 per cent to end at Rs 439.50 on BSE. During the day, it surged 5.68 per cent to Rs 445.80.
On NSE, shares of the company closed with a gain of 4.22 per cent at Rs 440.20.
The stock was the biggest gainer on both the key indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- during the day.
The company's market valuation rose by Rs 7,075.73 crore to Rs 1,75,685.73 crore.
In terms of equity volume, 5.20 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over one crore shares changed hands on NSE during the day.
Singtel will invest Rs 2,649 crore in Bharti Telecom, raising its stake in the holding company of Bharti Airtel by 1.7 per cent to 48.9 per cent.
The preferential allotment of shares which is expected to be closed by March 2018 would allow SingTel to raise its 'economic interest' in India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel by 0.9 per cent to 39.5 per cent.
Bharti Airtel said that the funds will be used towards debt reduction.
As on December 31, 2017, the company's consolidated net debt stood at Rs 91,714 crore higher than Rs 91,480 crore in the previous quarter.
"Singtel International Investments will be allotted up to 85,450,000 new equity shares in Bharti Telecom at an issue price of Rs 310 per equity share. This will increase Singtel's stake in Bharti Telecom by up to 1.7 per cent for an aggregate consideration of approximately Rs 26.5 billion," Singtel said in a separate statement.
Bharti Telecom held 50.1 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel at the end of 2017.