Bharti Airtel Recovers from Early Losses, Gains 2%

Shares of Bharti Airtel reversed early losses to gain around 2 per cent in noon trade. Bharti Airtel fell nearly 2 per cent in early trade on Thursday after a tower sale deal related to its African operations partially fell through.

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said its agreement with Helios Towers Africa for sale of tower assets in Tanzania and Tchad signed last year has been terminated.

The company on July 9 last year signed a deal with Helios Towers Africa (HTA) to divest approximately 3,100 towers in four countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Tchad and Tanzania. Airtel was supposed to have access to these towers under a long-term lease contract. The overall deal value was estimated at Rs 2,600 crore.

"... the agreements for sale of tower assets in Tanzania and Tchad between the respective subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel Limited and Helios Towers Africa have lapsed and therefore stands terminated," Bharti Airtel said in a filing to BSE.

At 11:47 a.m., Bharti Airtel shares were up nearly 2 per cent as compared to a nearly 1 per cent gain in Nifty.