SingTel has disclosed plans to invest a further 18.59 billion rupees ($302.7 million) in Indian incumbent operator Bharti Airtel.
SingTel subsidiary SingTel International Investments has arranged to buy just over 788,500 shares in Bharti Telecom Limited, representing an additional 3.62% stake.
Bharti Telecom Limited is the promoter for Bharti Airtel, and owns 43.57% of the operator.
The transaction will increase SingTel's effective direct and indirect stake in Bharti Airtel to 32.34% from 30.76%, and its effective interest in Bharti Telecom to 39.78% from 36.16%.
The 23.578.45 rupee per share sale price represents an effective price per Airtel share of 294.69 rupees, a roughly 10% discount to the volume weighted average price on the Bombay Stock Exchange in the 30 days leading up to the purchase disclosure.
SingTel said it will pay cash for the purchase and does not expect the share acquisition to have a material impact on its earnings per share for FY14.
It has been a busy week for SingTel, with the company also announcing its quarterly results, launching carrier billing for Google Play in Singapore and calling off a planned sale of its Australian satellite unit Optus Satellite.