Linklaters advises on Bharti Airtel’s US$2.8bn rights issue

Linklaters advised the lead managers, as sole international counsel, on Bharti Airtel Limited’s rights issue of partly paid-up equity shares for INR 21,000 crore (approx. US$2.8bn), which will be collected in three tranches, over a three-year period. This transaction represents the largest ever issuance of partly paid-up equity shares by a telecom company in India.

The rights issue was completed by way of a fast-track route and the proceeds from the issuance will be used to support Bharti Airtel in continuing to grow its business, including expanding the 4G network in India and investing in the upcoming 5G spectrum auction.

The lead managers on the transaction comprised Axis Capital Limited, BofA Securities India Limited, BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Limited, HDFC Bank Limited, ICICI Securities Limited, JM Financial Limited, J.P. Morgan India Private Limited and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited.

The transaction was led by Linklaters’ Head of South and Southeast Asia Capital Markets Amit Singh, with support from counsel Joseph Wolpin and associate Rushil Oberoi.

Capital Markets partner Amit Singh, commented:

“We are grateful for the confidence our clients have placed in us on this significant transaction. This is a clear testament to the strength of our team and our capabilities in working on some of the most structured capital markets deals in India and the region.”

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global multinational telecommunications services company headquartered in New Delhi, India. Bharti Airtel is the world’s second largest provider of telecommunications services, based on total mobile connections, with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa.

Linklaters has an established reputation as the leading Indian capital markets practice, offering technical expertise and commercial awareness to create novel solutions to maximise investment opportunities. The team has worked on the development of some of the most complex and innovative transaction structures in the Asia region, and have one of the largest teams of any firm, focused on India and Southeast Asia.