Bharti Airtel promoters — Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) and the Mittal family — are likely to sell more shares to outside investors in the near-to-medium term as they look to hold equal stakes in India’s second-largest telecom carrier, JM Financial said in a report.At present, Singtel and the Mittal family effectively own 29.49% and 22.93% respectively in Airtel through direct and indirect holdings.“…there is a possibility of continued stake sale by both promoters to outside investors, which could be a near-to-medium term overhang (on the telco) as Singtel and the Mittal family plan to equalise their stakes in Airtel over a period of time,” J M Financial said in a research note seen by ET.The brokerage added that the move is in step with Singtel's strategy to reduce debt, fund 5G capex and growth initiatives and also to help grow its dividends in a sustainable way.At press time, Bharti Group and Singtel did not reply to ET’s queries.Total promoter holding in Airtel has dipped a few decimal points in the past two months - from 53.1% (in December 2024) to 52.4%.Lately, there has been a spurt in Airtel promoter group stake sales to outside investors.Earlier this month, Rajiv Jain-led GQG Partners, SBI Life Insurance, Vanguard International Value Fund and National Pension System (NPS) Trust were among the major buyers of the 0.84% stake sold by Indian Continent Investment Ltd (ICIL), a Sunil Mittal-led promoter group entity in Airtel. Likewise, in March 2024, Singtel had sold a 0.8% stake in Airtel to GQG Partners.Last November, Singtel had said Airtel’s promoters planned to equalise their direct stakes in the Indian telco in the medium-term. Singtel directly owns 9.49% in Airtel through its affiliate, Pastel Ltd, while the Sunil Mittal-led promoter family holds 2.47% directly through ICIL.But Singtel and the Mittal family’s indirect holdings in Airtel are routed via Bharti Telecom Ltd (BTL) — the main promoter-level controlling company that owns 40.47% in Airtel.Mittal family-backed Bharti Group and Singtel own 50.56% and 49.44% in BTL respectively. As a result, besides their direct stakes in Airtel, Singtel and the Mittal family also indirectly hold another 20% and 20.46% respectively in the telco through BTL.Bharti Airtel shares were up 0.50% to Rs 1649.85 on BSE Thursday afternoon, pegging the telco’s market capitalisation at over Rs 9.40 lakh-crore.