Bharti Airtel block deal today; Rs 9,300 crore shares to change hands; key details

Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd would be in focus on Friday morning, as a promoter group entity led by Sunil Mittal, is looking to sell up to 0.8 per cent stake or Rs 9,310 crore worth Bharti Airtel shares in a block deal today. Indian Continent Investment Ltd (ICIL) may offload 5 crore shares at a floor price of Rs 1,862 per share, which would be at a 3 per cent discount to Thursday’s closing price of Rs 1,922.60 apiece.

Post this transaction, ICIL’s holding in Bharti Airtel will decline from 2.47 per cent to 1.67 per cent. However, the overall promoter stake in the company will remain substantial at over 51 per cent, including shares held through other entities such as Bharti Telecom. Jefferies and JP Morgan are serving as advisors and bankers to the block deal, according to the term sheet accessed by Business Today.

This marks ICIL’s second major divestment in the past year. In February 2025, it had sold a 0.84 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel, raising Rs 8,485 crore. At the time, group entity Bharti Telecom Ltd, which currently owns 40.47 per cent of Bharti Airtel, acquired roughly a quarter of the shares on offer.

Bharti Airtel recently reported a healthy Q1 performance, led by better performance in Airtel Africa and India wireless. "We continue to like Bharti’s superior execution on the premiumization agenda. Further, with moderation in capex intensity and a potential tariff hike, Bharti is likely to generate significant FCF," MOFSL said.

JM Financial said  the potential 5G monetisation and FWA rollout provides significant upside risk for Bharti Airtel over the long term. 

"From a long-term perspective, we believe Bharti Airtel would continue to gain market share, backed by the highest penetrations, and with minimum Capex requirements. Therefore, with a stronger digital portfolio supported by rising per-user data and growing business verticals, we are positive about the company’s future growth. We maintain our BUY recommendation on the stock," Axis Securities said.

Bharti Airtel's nanagement recently highlighted while capex is expected to follow a non-linear trajectory, overall capex is expected to trend lower, with peak radio capex behind. It remains focused on strengthening the balance sheet through ongoing deleveraging initiatives while also evaluating steps to unlock value and enhance shareholder returns.

"Bharti is in an enviable position today generating over Rs 10,000 crore of quarterly FCF, which should further improve with peak 5G capex behind, leading to better shareholder returns. We continue to value the stock on Mar-27E using SotP: India mobility business at 14x (earlier 13.5x), other businesses at 7x EV/Ebitda and Tower/Africa business at a 20 per cent discount to current market cap; retain ‘BUY/SO’," Nuvama said recently.