VIL will issue preferential shares to Vodafone Group entities to raise Rs 1,980 cr

New Delhi: Telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Monday said its board has approved the issuance of up to 175.53 crore shares on a preferential basis to two Vodafone Group entities to raise up to Rs 1,980 crore. The debt-ridden telco pegged the issue price at Rs 11.28 per equity share. "...Board of...Vodafone Idea Limited at its meeting held today 9 December 2024, has approved.... issuance of up to 1,755,319,148 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each at an issue price of Rs 11.28 per equity share (including a premium of Rs 1.28 per equity share) for an aggregate consideration of up to Rs 1,980 crore on a preferential basis to Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited (up to Rs 1,280 crore) and Usha Martin Telematics Limited (up to Rs 700 crore), Vodafone Group entities and promoters of the company...," VIL said in a BSE filing.

The relevant date for determining the floor price of the preferential issue is December 6, 2024, the company informed. An extraordinary general meeting of the company would be held on January 7, 2025, to approve the matter, said the telco, which trails larger rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel both on subscriber count and revenue metrics. Vodafone Group holds a 22.56 per cent stake, Aditya Birla Group 14.76 per cent and the government has a 23.15 per cent stake in Vodafone Idea (VIL). It is pertinent to mention that Vodafone Idea reported a narrowing of its consolidated loss to Rs 7,175.9 crore in the September quarter, mainly on account of an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) post-tariff hike in July.

The company had posted a loss of Rs 8,746.6 crore a year ago. During the reported quarter, VIL concluded a mega deal of about $3.6 billion (approximately Rs 30,000 crore), for the 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 of VIL increased 1.8 per cent to Rs 10,918.1 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal year from Rs 10,714.6 crore in the year-ago period.

Its consolidated revenue from operations increased to Rs 10,932.2 crore during the quarter from Rs 10,716.3 crore a year ago. According to data recently shared by Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar in the Lok Sabha, Vodafone Idea had a debt of Rs 2.07 lakh crore, Bharti Airtel Rs 1.25 lakh crore and Jio Infocomm Rs 52,740 crore as of March 31, 2024.