Warburg Pincus to buy 20% stake in Airtel DTH

Tribune News Service & PTI

New Delhi, December 12

Bharti Airtel today said an affiliate of private equity firm Warburg Pincus will acquire up to 20% stake in its DTH arm Bharti Telemedia for about $350 million (around Rs 2,310 crore).

Out of the 20%, Bharti Airtel will sell its 15% stake in direct-to-home arm and the balance will be sold by another Bharti entity which holds 5% stake in the company.

“Bharti Airtel...and Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing, today announced that an affiliate of Warburg Pincus will acquire up to a 20% equity stake in Bharti Telemedia Limited, the DTH arm of Airtel, for approximately $350 million,” both the companies said in a joint statement.

Upon closing of the transaction, Airtel will own 80% equity stake in Bharti Telemedia Limited.

“Airtel has enjoyed a very successful partnership with Warburg Pincus in the past and we are excited to partner with them once again in an attractive and fast-growing space,” Bharti Airtel MD & CEO (India & South Asia) Gopal Vittal said.

Bharti Telemedia had approximately 14 million subscribers and approximately $550 million in revenues during the 12-month period ended September 30. The company claims to have strong distribution infrastructure, with over 1,500 partners and over 1,58,000 recharge outlets in approximately 630 districts of the country.

“The Indian Digital TV market is expanding rapidly and we believe that Airtel DTH is well positioned to capitalise on incremental growth in digitisation and new TV penetration in Tier 3 and 4 towns and rural areas,” Warburg Pincus India Managing Director and co-head Vishal Mahadevia said.