Bharti Airtel Shares Fall Despite Market Rally: Here’s Why

New Delhi: Despite a market-wide rally following three days of losses, Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom company and one of the country’s top-valued firms, saw its shares drop over 2% in early trading on Wednesday. The stock fell to ₹2,100 on the BSE from Tuesday’s close of ₹2,160.75.

Reason for the Decline

The decline is attributed to a block sale by a promoter group entity. Indian Continent Investment, a promoter company, is planning to raise roughly ₹7,200 crore by selling about 3.4 million shares, which represents approximately 0.6% of Bharti Airtel’s total equity. The deal is being managed by Goldman Sachs India.

Once the transaction is completed, the promoter group’s total stake in Bharti Airtel will drop slightly below 50%. This is the third instance in six months that a promoter entity has sold shares in the company. Earlier, on 7 November, a Singtel entity sold about 0.8% of shares for ₹10,600 crore, and on 8 August, Indian Continent Investment sold another 0.8% stake for ₹9,300 crore.

Floor Price and Shareholding Details

Indian Continent Investment is listed as one of the foreign promoters of the company. The shares are being offered at a floor price of ₹2,097 per share, which is roughly 3% below Tuesday’s NSE closing price of ₹2,162. As per the shareholding pattern until 30 September, Indian Continent Investment held around 1.5% stake in Bharti Airtel.