The market regulator has given a go-ahead for Sebi's rights issue to raise funds for strengthening the company's balance sheet as well as have enough headroom for spending on 4G network to compete with rival Jio.

The company is in the process of obtaining requisite approvals and shall make necessary announcements at an appropriate time," company spokesperson told one of the leading business dailies.

In February, the board of Airtel had approved plans of raising as much as Rs. 32,000 via a mix of bond and equity sales. And of this Rs. 25,000 crore is planned to raised via a rights issue and the remaining shall be raised through foreign currency perpetual bonds.
In Monday's trade, the stock of country's second-largest telecom company closed lower by 0.64% at Rs 354.30 on BSE

Axis Capital will be the manager of the Airtel's right issue.

The rights issue is priced at a steep discount of 30% in comparison to February 28 closing price of Rs 317.95 on BSE at Rs. 220 per share. The company will issue 1.14 billion shares, increasing its equity base by over 22% to 5.13 billion equity shares. For the rights issue, the company has pegged the entitlement ratio at 19 shares for every 67 held.

GoodReturns.in