“This is an internal re-organization of shareholding and has no impact on the ownership of the Bank. The requisite regulatory and corporate approvals in this regard, have been received by the company,” Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
Airtel said the transfer of shareholding falls within the purview of related party transactions and shall be done at arm’s length.
During the 2023-24 financial year, the turnover of Airtel Payments Bank stood at Rs 165.1 crore while the net worth was Rs 503.8 crore. Bharti Airtel’s turnover during the same period was Rs 1,49,982.4 crore and net worth to the tune of Rs 80,056.1 crore.
Airtel Payments Bank, which started operations in 2017 and clocked a net profit of Rs 18.5 crore on revenue of about Rs 700 crore in the third quarter of this financial year. The company may come out with an initial public offering (IPO) of the payments bank in the coming couple of years as part of a regulatory mandate.
“We have some mandate, we have been net worth positive for some time. So, over the next couple of years, we should potentially see an IPO in the payments bank,” said an official, who did not wish to be identified.