Indus Towers Shares Rise Over 5% After Bharti Airtel Buys Equity

Indus Towers Ltd. share price rose over 5% on Friday as data on the NSE showed promoter Bharti Airtel Ltd. acquired equity between Aug. 25 and Sept. 1 from the open market.

Bharti Airtel acquired over 68.7 lakh shares in the company in five tranches, as per insider trading data on the NSE. This represents 0.26% equity in Indus Towers.

The acquisition price has not been disclosed. The current market value of the shares is Rs 234 crore.

The Sunil Bharti Mittal-led telecom giant owned a 50% stake in Indus Towers as of June.

In a recent note, analysts at Citi said Indus Towers' valuation is attractive in a regional and local context and believe "growth concerns appear overdone."

They expect strong FCF (Free Cash Flow) generation to support future payouts, despite a temporary delay. Any government relief for Vodafone Idea Ltd. could trigger a positive chain of events, enabling Indus to reinstate dividends, the note said.