Bharti gets $460m from global partners

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 7. In a move that has left its telecom setor compatriots impressed, Bharti Enterprises today said it had received investment of $460 million for its telecom projects. At a time when cellular companies are poised to face competition even from a large number of basic phone companies, Bharti has been promised $200 million each from two of its overseas partners - Singapore Telecom and Warburg Pincus, a private equity investor.

Three more foreign institutional investors have also assured relatively lower investments in the Bharti's rights issue to establish new cellular networks, a national long distance network and expanding the company's services. The current equity capital will give Bharti a strong net worth which it can leverage to seek additional investments in the form of loans. In the immediate future, Bharti has plans to raise $200 million through an initial public offering (IPO).

The ostensibly strong vote of confidence in Bharti's business plans by the five overseas companies is likely to give a fillip to its IPO plans. This was admitted to some extent by the Bharti Enterprises Chairman, Mr. Sunil Mittal. ``This investment has further critical importance as it symbolises the faith Bharti's partners have in its ability to build shareholder value by increasing their stake and level of investments they have previously made in Bharti,'' he observed.

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Section  : Business
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