Bharti Airtel Limited (BSE:532454) is not in talks to buy UK-based Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (LSE:VOD)'s 21.05% stake in Indus Towers Limited (NSEI:INDUSTOWER) the Indian telecom operator said on April 24, 2024, after a newspaper reported that it was eyeing the stake. The Economic Times said in a report, that if the deal went through, Vodafone Group could infuse some of the proceeds into Vodafone Idea Limited (NSEI:IDEA), its cash-strapped Indian venture with Aditya Birla Group. "The company has no desire to raise its stake beyond what is required for financial consolidation of Indus in the company, which shall be done as and when appropriate with compliance of applicable disclosure requirements," Airtel said, in an exchange filing.

Billionaire Sunil Mittal's Airtel is the largest shareholder in telecom infrastructure developer Indus Towers with a 47.95% stake. Vodafone Group, Vodafone Idea and Indus Towers did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Airtel's shares were last up 0.3% while Vodafone Idea dropped 4.5% on April 24, 2024.

Indus Towers reversed course to trade 1.4% lower at INR 354.40. The Economic Times reported that discussions were stalled over valuation as Airtel was not willing to buy the stake at Indus Towers' current share price, which has climbed over 77% since January. Airtel is looking for a valuation of INR 210 - INR 212 per share - the level at which U.S. private equity fund KKR & Co.

Inc. (NYSE:KKR) and Canadian pension fund Canada Pension Plan Investment Board sold shares in Indus in February, the newspaper reported.