Bharti Hexacom Secures ₹1,923.75 Crore from Anchor Investors Ahead of IPO

Bharti Hexacom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of telecom giant Bharti Airtel, successfully raised ₹1,923.75 Crore from anchor investors on April 2, a day before the commencement of its public offer. This marks the first Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the new fiscal year FY25 and also the first from the Bharti Group since the Bharti Infratel issue launched back in December 2012.

The anchor book attracted 97 institutional investors, including prominent names such as Blackrock Global Funds, Pictet, Smallcap World Fund, Capital Group, American Funds, Fidelity Funds, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Other notable participants included Stichting Depository APG, Aberdeen, Schroder International, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Equity Investment Fund, BNP Paribas Trust Services Singapore, Eastspring Investments, Morgan Stanley, and HSBC.

In its filing to the exchanges, the mobile, fixed-line telephone, and broadband services provider disclosed the final allocation of 3,37,50,000 equity shares to anchor investors at a price of ₹570 per share. Domestic fund houses, including SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Trustee, Axis Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, Nippon Life India, Mirae Asset, UTI Mutual Fund, Franklin, Tata Mutual Fund, DSP Mutual Fund, Whiteoak Capital, Sundaram Mutual Fund, Bandhan Mutual Fund, and PGIM India, also participated in the offering.

Bharti Hexacom further stated, "Out of the total allocation of 3,37,50,000 equity shares to anchor investors, 1,38,77,630 equity shares were allocated to 22 domestic mutual funds through a total of 55 schemes."

Leading insurance companies such as ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, Canara HSBC Life Insurance, and Tata AIA Life Insurance were also among the anchor investors.

The Bharti Hexacom IPO is set to open for subscription today, with a price band set at ₹542-570 per share, and it will close on April 5. The company, which focuses on Rajasthan and North East telecom circles in India, aims to raise ₹4,275 Crore from the public issue, which consists solely of an offer-for-sale (OFS) by the Telecommunications Consultants India.

Telecommunications Consultants India, the only public shareholder in Bharti Hexacom, is diluting its 15% stake, equivalent to 7.5 Crore equity shares, out of its total 30% shareholding, through the OFS route. Promoter Bharti Airtel holds a 70% stake in the company.

The Bharti Hexacom IPO has reserved up to 75% of shares for qualified institutional investors, 10% for retail investors, and the remaining 15% for non-institutional investors (high net-worth individuals).