Bharti Airtel on Wednesday settled up nearly six per cent, a day after it completed the acquisition of Zain’s Africa operations, making its investors richer by Rs 5,449.71 crore.
The Bharti counter maintained its strength even in a volatile market and ended 5.57 per cent at Rs 272.15 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs 274.95, up 6.65 per cent. On the NSE, it settled better at Rs 274.25, up 6.15 per cent.
The surge saw the company adding Rs 5,449.71 crore to its market valuation at Rs 1,03,349.78 crore. It had a market valuation of Rs 97,900.07 crore at the end of trade on June 8.
“While we remain upbeat on Bharti due to its ability to generate strong cash flows and weather the storm, stiff competition, stretched balance sheet, regulatory uncertainties will continue to remain near term overhang,” HDFC Securities Research said in its report.
A total of 1.54 crore Bharti shares changed hands on both the bourses.
On March 30, Bharti had entered into a deal to acquire Zain’s operations in 15 African markets, excluding Sudan and Morocco. With this acquisition, Bharti now has a subscriber base of around 180 million. The company has now become the fifth largest mobile player in the world.
On Tuesday, Bharti Airtel said its debt position following the $ 10.7-billion acquisition of Zain Africa was
“manageable”.
