Bharti Airtel increases Airtel Africa holding to 79% in transaction worth ₹28,000 crore

Bharti Airtel has raised its stake in Airtel Africa by 16.31 per cent to about 79 per cent through a share-swap agreement, which is estimated to be around ₹28,200 crore, according to a company filing on Tuesday.

Before the transaction, Bharti Airtel held 62.73 per cent in Airtel Africa.

"The company completed the acquisition of 595,204,251 shares (around 16.3 per cent stake) of Airtel Africa, from ICIL on June 22, 2026. Consequently, the company's effective stake in Airtel Africa has increased to around 79 per cent," Bharti Airtel said in the filing.

The transaction involves Bharti Airtel issuing equity shares to Indian Continent Investment Limited (ICIL), a promoter group entity, on a preferential basis, in exchange for its 16.31 per cent stake in Airtel Africa.

The transaction, being a cashless share-swap, presents an opportunity to the company to acquire a large block and increase its economic interest in a high-growth asset without any incremental leverage or cash outflow, the statement said.

In the last earnings of Bharti Airtel for the March 2026 quarter, Bharti Enterprises Founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal had outlined a plan to increase promoters shareholding in group companies.

Mittal estimated that Airtel Africa in the next few years will become a USD 10 billion revenue company and a very strong subsidiary of Airtel India generating very handsome returns for the company.

Airtel Africa, has posted over two-fold jump in profit to USD 813 million (about ₹7,700 crore) for FY26, mainly driven by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and forex gains.

The Africa business had reported a 29.5 per cent increase in revenue to USD 6.4 billion in FY26 from USD 4.9 billion in FY25.

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