Singtel sold an 0.8% direct stake in regional associate Airtel to US-based investment firm GQG Partners for S$0.95 billion. The resultant gain from the sale is estimated to be S$0.7 billion.
Singtel has been a strategic investor in Airtel, one of the world’s top three mobile operators with over 500 million customers in 17 countries, for more than 20 years. After the transaction, Singtel will hold an effective stake of 29.0% in Airtel, worth an estimated S$33 billion. In 2022, Singtel sold a 3.3% direct stake in Airtel for approximately S$2.54 billion to illuminate the value of its holdings in Airtel.
Singtel says this transaction is the latest in its efforts to unlock value from its assets, bringing the total capital recycled to S$8 billion since its strategic reset in 2021. This has allowed the Group to fund the growth of its data centre and IT services, as well as reduce net debt by S$3.2 billion as of end September 2023. The Group has also returned S$0.8 billion in special dividends to shareholders from capital recycling, contributing to cumulative dividends of S$5.2 billion paid out to shareholders since April 2022.
