Bharti Airtel Shares Fall After Singtel Sells $1.16 Billion Stake
New Delhi: Shares of Indian billionaire Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel declined sharply on Friday after Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) offloaded a major stake in the telecom giant. According to a report by Reuters, Singtel sold a 0.8% stake in Bharti Airtel worth USD 1.16 billion as part of its ongoing asset restructuring strategy.
Singtel Reduces Stake in Bharti Airtel
Singtel’s subsidiary Pastel Ltd sold around 51 million shares of Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, at ₹2,030 per share — a discount of about 3.1% compared to Airtel’s closing price on Thursday.
Singtel, which has been an investor in Bharti Airtel since 2000, now holds a 27.5% stake, down from 31.4% in 2022. The telecom major has been gradually paring down its stake to strengthen its balance sheet and boost shareholder returns. This divestment forms part of Singtel’s mid-term asset recycling programme, which aims to raise capital for investments in digital infrastructure and emerging technology services.
Bharti Airtel Share Performance
Following the stake sale, Bharti Airtel shares fell 4.46% on Friday, closing at ₹2,001.50 on the NSE. As of November 7, the company’s market capitalisation stood at ₹11.99 lakh crore. Despite the recent dip, Bharti Airtel’s stock has quadrupled in value since late 2019, driven by robust earnings growth and a steady rise in average revenue per user (ARPU). This performance has enabled Singtel to book significant gains from its long-term investment.
Sunil Mittal’s Net Worth
According to Forbes, Bharti Airtel’s chairman Sunil Mittal has a real-time net worth of USD 14.3 billion as of November 8, 2025, making him one of India’s richest business leaders.
Bharti Airtel Q2 FY26 Results
In its Q2 FY26 earnings report, Bharti Airtel posted a two-fold jump in consolidated net profit to ₹8,651 crore, compared to ₹4,153.4 crore in the same quarter last year. The company’s EBITDA rose to ₹29,919 crore, marking a 35.9% year-on-year increase, while the EBITDA margin improved to 57.4% from 53.1% YoY.
