Airtel Africa receives $200 mn from Qatar

New Delhi: The Qatar Investment Authority will invest USD 200 million in Airtel Africa through a primary equity issuance in the company.

"Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar has agreed to invest USD 200 million through a primary equity issuance in the company. The proceeds will be used to further reduce Airtel Africa's existing net debt," Airtel said in a statement.

With this fresh investment, the overall debt of Bharti Airtel will reduce to USD 3.5 billion.

The investment from QIA is in addition to the recent USD 1.25 billion investment by six leading global investors, including Warburg Pincus, Temasek, Singtel, and SoftBank Group International, in Airtel Africa.

Representatives from the six investors have already joined the Airtel Africa board.

The fresh transaction with QIA will not involve any sale of shares by the existing shareholders, the statement said.