Bharti Airtel's board of directors on Sunday approved raising up to Rs 21,000 crore by way of rights issue, at a price of Rs 535 per share, according to a regulatory filing.

The mega fundraising is bound to give more firepower to Airtel, as the company takes on rivals in the fiercely competitive Indian telecom market. India, which is the world's second-largest telecom market and the biggest data consumer, is now gearing up for 5G that will significantly scale up connectivity pipes, enabling ultra-high-speeds and new-age applications for users, and new revenue streams for players.

 Airtel's board, which met to consider the company's capital raising plans, cleared rights issue price of Rs 535 per fully paid-up equity share, including a premium of Rs 530 per equity share. In a BSE filing, Airtel said that the "...board approved the issuance of equity shares of the face value of Rs 5 each of the company on rights basis to eligible equity shareholders of the company as on the record date (to be notified later), of an issue size of up to Rs 21,000 crore".

The rights entitlement ratio entails one equity share for every 14 equity shares held by eligible shareholders as on the record date. The terms of payment of issue price, envisage 25 percent on application and balance in two more additional calls as may be decided by the board or its committee based on the company's requirements within an overall time-horizon of 36 months, Airtel said.

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