Vodafone Idea to consider raising funds worth ₹2,000-crore on Dec 9 via preferential issue to promoter group
- Vodafone Idea said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges that it would conduct a board meeting on Monday, December 9, 2024, to consider the fundraising.
Vodafone Idea announced on Thursday, December 5, that its board will consider a proposal to raise ₹2,000 crore via preferential equity issuance belonging to Vodafone Group, one of its promoters. The debt-ridden telecom major said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges that it would conduct a board meeting on Monday, December 9, 2024, to consider the fundraising.
“A meeting of the Board of Directors of the company is scheduled to be held on Monday, 9 December 2024, inter-alia, to consider a proposal for raising of funds not exceeding ₹2,000 crore by way of issuance of equity shares and/or convertible securities on a preferential basis to one or more entities belonging to Vodafone Group (one of the Promoters of the Company),” said Vodafone Idea.
Also Read: Vodafone UK to sell remaining 3% stake in Indus Towers via book build offering for repaying debt
"The trading window for dealing in securities of the company shall be closed from Thursday, 5 December 2024, till Wednesday, 11 December 2024 (both days inclusive)," said Vodafone Idea in its stock exchange filing on Thursday, December 5.
Vodafone UK to sell remaining 3% stake in Indus Towers
The development follows Vodafone Group’s announcement to sell a three-per cent stake in Indus Towers to clear its debt of $101 million, or about ₹856 crore, and use the residual amount to pay outstanding dues of its Indian venture, Vodafone Idea. British telecom firm Vodafone’s stake in Indus Towers is valued at around ₹2,800 crore.
Vodafone Group Plc said that after settling the debt, it will contribute the residual proceeds (after repayment of Vodafone's outstanding borrowings) towards an issue of new equity shares by Vodafone Idea once the terms of the capital raise are evaluated and decided by the Board of Directors. In Vodafone Idea, the Vodafone Group holds a 22.56 per cent stake, the Aditya Birla Group 14.76 per cent, and the government has a 23.15 per cent stake.
The move follows Bharti Airtel's increasing its stake in Indus Towers to 50.005 per cent in October, making Indus a subsidiary of the No. 2 carrier. According to Bloomberg, the price range of the offer is ₹343 to ₹358 per share of Indus Towers. On Thursday, shares of Vodafone Idea settled 3.92 per cent lower at ₹8.08 apiece on the BSE.
Vodafone Idea Q2 Results
Vodafone Idea's consolidated loss narrowed to ₹7,175.9 crore in the September quarter, mainly due to an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) following the July tariff hike. The company had posted a loss of ₹8,746.6 crore in the same period a year ago.
During the reported quarter, VIL concluded a mega deal of about USD 3.6 billion (approximately ₹30,000 crore), for supply of network equipment over a period of three years with Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung for which delivery and deployment commenced in October.
The consolidated revenue from services increased 1.8 per cent to ₹10,918.1 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal year from ₹10,714.6 crore in the year-ago period. The revenue from operations increased to ₹10,932.2 crore during the quarter from ₹10,716.3 crore a year ago.
Vodafone Idea increased mobile service rates by 11-24 per cent from July 4. The company's mobile customer ARPU, excluding machine-to-machine, increased 7.8 per cent to ₹166 on a quarter-over-quarter basis from ₹154 in the April-June period. The overall subscriber base declined to 20.5 crore from 21 crore and 4G subscriber base to 12.59 crore from 12.67 crore sequentially.
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