The unit will house about $2.3 billion of debt, pushing its enterprise value to $8.3 billion, the person said.A Bharti Airtel spokesman declined to comment.The pressure to provide 4G services across India and expand broadband before Jio roils this segment too, will imply capital spending of about 240 billion rupees ($3.6 billion) in the year to March 2019, the person said. Bharti Airtel’s shares have plunged 23.7 percent this year, compared with a 3.6 percent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.The company’s continuing asset monetization push will allay some of these concerns. Bharti Airtel will engage with investors to evaluate a strategic stake sale once the merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus is complete, according to an April 25 filing. In 2016, Bharti Airtel also sold its Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone units.India’s top carrier raised $2 billion through the sale of its African tower assets and $1 billion from the sale of its Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone businesses, the person said. Bharti Airtel in 2010 acquired the African assets of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co., also known as Zain, for an enterprise valuation of $10.7 billion.

Source: Economic Times May 09, 2018 07:41 UTC