Bharti Airtel to sell 25% stake in data centre unit

Singtel's Indian associate Bharti Airtel is proposing to sell about 25 per cent of its wholly owned data centre unit Nxtra Data for US$235 million (S$327.4 million).

Nxtra Data is based in New Delhi and offers services to leading Indian and global enterprises and governments through its 10 large centres across the country and a network of other facilities.

Mr Gopal Vittal, Bharti Airtel managing director and chief executive of India and South Asia, said: "Rapid digitisation has opened up a massive growth opportunity for data centres in India and we plan to accelerate our investments to become a major player in this segment."

The stake is being bought by a unit of global investment firm The Carlyle Group, subject to regulatory approval.

Mr Neeraj Bharadwaj, advisory team managing director of Carlyle Asia Partners, said India is set to become one of the largest markets in the world for digital services.

"Airtel, with its proven track record of solid execution and customer focus, is well positioned to leverage the potential growth of data centres in India," he noted.

THE BUSINESS TIMES

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 02, 2020, with the headline Bharti Airtel to sell 25% stake in data centre unit. Subscribe