New Delhi: Google will invest $1 billion (approx. Rs 7,500 crore) in Bharti Airtel, which includes 1.28 per cent stake at Rs 734 per share, and the rest towards multi-year plans for scaling up the offerings of Airtel.
Google will make the investment as part of its “Google for India” digitization fund.
The $300 million will be invested for implementing commercial agreements, which includes investments in scaling-up Airtel’s offerings covering a range of devices for consumers via innovative affordability programs, as well as for offerings such as accelerating access and digital inclusion across India’s digital ecosystem.
“This will comprise- USD 700 million equity investment in Bharti Airtel at a price per share of Rs 734. Under the larger strategic goals of the partnership, both companies will also potentially co-create India-specific network domain use cases for 5G and other standards, with cutting-edge implementations,” Airtel said in a statement.
“Airtel and Google share the vision to grow India’s digital dividend through innovative products. With our future ready network, digital platforms, last-mile distribution and payments ecosystem, we look forward to working closely with Google to increase the depth and breadth of India’s digital ecosystem,” Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said in the statement.
Google had invested $4.5 billion for a 7.73% stake in Jio, in July 2020.
