Warburg Pincus to buy 20 percent stake in Bharti Airtel’s DTH arm for $350 million

(Reuters) – Bharti Airtel Ltd (BRTI.NS) on Tuesday said an affiliate of U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus will buy up to a 20 percent stake in the Indian telecom operator’s direct-to-home arm for $ 350 million.

Under the deal, Bharti Airtel will sell 15 percent stake in Bharti Telemedia Ltd, while the remaining 5 percent will be sold by another Bharti entity, the telecom operator said in a statement. (bit.ly/2C5FBBX)

Viraj Sawhney, managing director of Warburg Pincus India, will join Bharti Telemedia’s board as part of the deal.

Once the deal closes, Airtel will own 80 percent stake in the DTH unit.

Bharti Telemedia, which operates under the brand Airtel TV, has about 14 million subscribers and a revenue of about $ 550 million in the 12-month period ended Sept. 30.