Temasek in $1.8b exit from India's Bharti, Thailand's Intouch

Singtel, which is also majority-owned by Temasek, will finance the transaction through internal cash and short-term debt, along with a share placement of 386 million newly issued shares, to be bought by Temasek for S$1.6 billion. The deal will see it take a 21% stake in Intouch and a 7.4% stake in Bharti, raising its holding in Bharti to 36.3%; it is already Bharti's biggest single shareholder.

Both the acquisitions and the share placement are interdependent and will close at the same time, which is expected to be in December depending on regulatory and shareholder approval.

The Bharti sale, which comes to S$1.6 billion, represents a substantial loss for Temasek, which in 2007 paid INR82 billion (then $2 billion) for a 5% stake in Bharti. In an earlier partial exit, also to SingTel, the group took in INR19 billion.

Through the purchase SingTel intends to increase its involvement in regional telecom businesses, especially in markets where adoption of smartphones and mobile data is proceeding rapidly. It sees Intouch, backer of Thai mobile operator Advanced Info Services (AIS), and Bharti as holding strong competitive positions and engaged in aggressive, forward-thinking moves for the future.

"Singtel has been a strategic partner to both AIS and Airtel for more than 15 years. We have built deep and trusted relationships, worked well together through the years, sharing knowledge and expertise and we have grown together, from strength to strength," said SingTel Group CEO Chua Sock Koong in a statement. "Today, they have a combined mobile customer base of more than 380 million across Asia and Africa. This is a unique opportunity for us to deepen our relationships with two great market leaders."

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• South Asia
• Infrastructure
• Technology
• Buyouts
• Open market
• Singapore
• India
• Temasek Holdings
• TMT