Airtel Africa has a relatively good balance sheet, however, Bharti Airtel (Airtel) is acquiring shares in Airtel Africa at a higher price than what the Mittal family paid for it in the past and obviously the Mittal family’s stake in Bharti will increase, said analysts on Thursday.
This move also suggests that the Mittal family perceives Bharti Airtel as undervalued compared to Airtel Africa, the analysts said.
Airtel on Wednesday announced it was acquiring more stake in its UK-listed subsidiary Airtel Africa after announcing share swap with Indian Continent Investment Ltd. As part of the deal, Airtel will issue around 14.67 crore fully paid-up equity shares of the company on a preferential basis against a swap of up to 16.31 per cent shareholding or up to 59.52 crore shares held by ICIL, in Airtel Africa.
Issue price for the equity share is placed at ₹1,923 per share, “well above the floor price in terms of SEBI ICDR Regulations”, the company had highlighted.
The total value of the share swap amounts to around ₹28,000 crore. At present, Airtel holds a 62.73 per cent stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary Airtel Africa Mauritius Ltd. This acquisition will increase Airtel’s stake in the UK arm to around 79 per cent.
According to Jefferies, the proposed share swap for Airtel Africa is on better than expected terms and may lower concerns on future stake sales by Singtel.
“This will not only be earnings-accretive, but will also lower the gap in the stakes of the Mittal Family and Singtel by 240bps to 3.6 per cent. This could potentially lower the scope for future stake sales by Singtel,” Jefferies said in a report.
According to JP Morgan, Airtel Africa has outperformed Airtel over the last two years and has enjoyed a sharp rerating even as Airtel has derated in this period. Given Airtel continues to trade at a premium, the swap is likely to be earnings accretive, it said.
According to NewStreet Research, this also shows increased confidence towards the African Telco sector which has moved from the worst region to probably the best in emerging market.
“Rising oil prices create a macro headwind in the near term but we do not think it will be as significant as post-Ukraine as market structure has improved and there is likely to be a more proactive response to rising energy costs. While the deal is modestly accretive for Bharti, shareholders may question the corporate governance implications of a related party transaction like this, but these concerns are likely to fade over time,” NewStreet Research said in its report.