Bharti Overseas Pvt Ltd Increases Voting Rights in Airtel Africa to 12.58%
Bharti Overseas Private Limited has recently strengthened its influence in Airtel Africa, increasing its voting rights to 12.58%. This notable development transpired as one of its subsidiaries, Indian Continent Investment Limited, purchased an additional 53.5 million Airtel Africa shares, amounting to £57.2 million.
The transaction unfolded on the London Stock Exchange, as disclosed in a corporate filing accessible on the NGX website via Nairametrics.
Indian Continent Investment Limited is closely linked to Shravin Bharti Mittal, the son of Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder of Bharti Enterprises, which serves as Airtel Africa's ultimate controlling entity. Bharti Overseas Private Limited, in turn, holds a 100% voting right in Bharti Global Limited, which directly holds a 100% voting right in Indian Continent Investment Limited.
As a result, Bharti Overseas' voting rights in Airtel Africa are established through indirect shareholding, with Bharti Global Limited holding 3.38% voting rights and Indian Continent Investment Limited holding 9.20% voting rights, summing up to 12.58%. This marks a notable increase from their previous voting stake of 11.03%.
In a related update, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel), the largest mobile network operator in Singapore, has reduced its voting rights in the group from 3.9406% to below 3%.
More Insight
For a broader perspective, Bharti Airtel Limited, under the joint control of the Mittal Family and Singtel, possesses a majority 56% stake in Airtel Africa. Bharti Overseas Private Limited, another Mittal family enterprise, now commands a significant 12.58% stake. Approximately 25% of Airtel Africa's shares are openly traded on both the London Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX).
The financials of Airtel Africa for the first half of FY 2024 have been turbulent, with the group reporting a pre-tax loss of $13 million. This represents a substantial year-on-year decline of 103.8% from the same period in FY 2023. Notably, this loss is attributed to considerable foreign exchange losses due to currency devaluation across Africa, particularly in Nigeria.
Segun Olusanya, the Group CEO, acknowledged the impact of these currency fluctuations on the group's half-year results, stating, "As reported in July 2023, our results for the first quarter were significantly impacted by the changes to the FX market in Nigeria, introduced by the Central Bank. While these changes are vital for the long-term benefit of the Nigerian economy, the immediate impact of the naira devaluation continues to affect our reported financial performance in this period."
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