Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel has sold part of its equity stake in tower company Bharti Infratel for $400 million as part of its strategy to reduce debt.

Bharti Airtel via its subsidiary Nettle Infrastructure Investments divested 67.53 million shares of its subsidiary Bharti Infratel through a secondary share sale in the stock market.

The sale was for a consideration of over INR 2,570 crore or over $400 million and was executed at a price of Rs 380.6 per share, representing a discount of 4 percent to the previous day’s closing price.

Bharti Airtel, the number one telecom operator in India, will primarily use the proceeds from this sale to reduce its debt. Bharti Airtel and its wholly owned subsidiaries together have 58 percent stake in Bharti Infratel.

The allocation was done to global tower company investors, fund managers and long only funds, including many repeat investors.

UBS and J.P. Morgan were joint placement agents for the transaction.