Bharti Airtel Sells 50% Stake in Firefly Networks to iBus Network for ₹45 Million

Bharti Airtel announced that it has entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to sell its entire 50% stake in Firefly Networks to iBus Network for ₹45 million. The transaction is expected to close within 30 business days.

Stake Sale Details

Bharti Airtel Limited (the ‘Company’) has announced the sale of its entire 50% stake in Firefly Networks Limited (‘Firefly’) to iBus Network and Infrastructure Private Limited.

The transaction, finalised on January 06, 2025, is subject to the completion of closing conditions and is expected to close within approximately 30 business days. The sale consideration is ₹45 million.

This move will result in Firefly no longer being a joint venture of Bharti Airtel. For the financial year 2023-24, Firefly contributed a negligible percentage of both turnover (0.0065%) and net worth (0.0007%) to Airtel’s consolidated financials, the company said in a press release on the stock exchanges.

The buyer, iBus Network, is not affiliated with Bharti Airtel’s promoters or related entities, and the sale does not qualify as a related party transaction. The transaction is also outside the scope of any scheme of arrangement and does not involve a slump sale.

This sale aligns with Airtel’s strategic priorities while allowing iBus Network to take full control of Firefly Networks.

Q2 FY25 Financial Highlight 

In Q2 of FY25, Bharti Airtel reported a significant surge in its performance, with a 168% year-on-year increase in net profit, reaching ₹3,593 crore, compared to ₹1,340 crore in the same quarter of FY24.

The company’s consolidated revenue stood at ₹41,473 crore, marking a 1% increase from ₹37,043 crore in Q2FY24. Revenue from Airtel’s India business rose by 16.9% to ₹31,561 crore, with mobile services contributing ₹24,837 crore.

The average revenue per user (ARPU) also saw a strong increase, rising 14.7% year-on-year to ₹233. Despite these strong financials, Airtel’s customer base in India decreased by 2 million to 407 million, primarily due to the impact of tariff hikes, although its ARPU remains the highest in the industry.

Share Price Performance

Bharti Airtel’s share price traded 0.17% higher at ₹1,590.40 at 2:00 PM on the NSE. The stock opened at ₹1,592.05 higher than ₹1,587.70 at the previous close.

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