Airtel board clears $3-bn fundraising via QIP, other means, to pay AGR dues

Leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced a $3-billion fund raising, including through qualified institutional placement (QIPs), mainly to pay dues linked to the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as directed by the Supreme Court (SC) recently.

The company board has given its approval to raise up to $2 billion through one or more QIP, public or private offerings of equity shares and compulsory convertible debentures etc. The board has also okayed raising $1 billion through foreign debt instruments and another $1 billion via “issuance of unsecured and/or secured, listed and/or unlisted, redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) along with warrants or other similar security denominated in Indian national rupee or combination thereof in one or more tranches”, according to a regulatory filing.