Alphabet Inc`s Google will invest up to $1 billion in Bharti Airtel in a move that could help bolster the Indian telecom operator`s digital offerings, the companies said on Friday.
The investment includes a $700 million equity investment in Airtel at a price of 734 rupees ($9.77) per share and up to $300 million towards implementing commercial agreements, including investments in scaling Airtel`s offerings, the companies said.
The share issue is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval and comes months after Airtel raised up to 210 billion rupees through a sale of shares to existing shareholders.
Airtel shares were up 0.54 per cent at 711 rupees after the announcement.
Google announced plans less than two years ago to infuse $10 billion in India via its digitisation fund over five to seven years through equity deals and tie-ups.
Conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd`s digital unit Jio Platforms, which houses Airtel`s telecom rival Jio, received an investment of $4.5 billion from Google in July 2020. In return, the US tech behemoth got a seat on Jio`s board.
Source: Thanks WIONews.com