Shares of Bharti Infratel lost its early gains during the last hour of the day’s trading to trade down by over 4 per cent after the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on the staggered payment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues. The Apex court said that the telcos will have to clear their dues in 10 years time with a 10 per cent up front payment by March 31, 2021.
On the BSE, Bharti Infratech scrip was at Rs 189.95, down by Rs 8.30 or 4.19 per cent. Earlier in the day, stock gained 4.91 per cent to Rs 208.
Similarly, after touching 5.16 per cent high to Rs 208.80 on the NSE, it was trading down by Rs 8.45 or 4.26 per cent at Rs 190.10.
The early gains were backed by company’s announcement in which its board said that they have decided to proceed with the scheme for merger with Indus Towers, and that the cash consideration chosen by Vodafone Idea for its 11.15 per cent stake in Indus Towers is expected to be about Rs 4,000 crore.
In a regulatory filing the company said, “The Board of Directors in its meeting held yesterday i.e. August 31, 2020 took note of the status of Scheme of Arrangement between Indus Towers and Bharti Infratel Limited and the related agreements.”
“After deliberations the Board has decided to authorize the Chairman to proceed with the Scheme and to comply with other procedural requirements for completion of the merger including approaching NCLT to make the Scheme effective subject to certain procedural condition precedents,” it added.
Bharti Airtel will hold 36.7 per cent stake in the merged entity, Vodafone UK (28.2 per cent), Providence Equity Partners (3.2 per cent) with public holding (31.6 per cent), according to a source.