Vodafone Idea to launch Rs 18,008 crore share sale in India's biggest follow-on stock offering

Bnegaluru: Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea said on Friday it would raise up to $2.16 billion (Rs 18,008 crores) later this month through a sale of new shares, in what will be the country's biggest follow-on public offering (FPO).

The debt-laden company said in February it would raise up to $2.3 billion (Rs 19,174 crores) through equity, which included financial support of 20 billion rupees from a top shareholder entity it did not name.

The public offering, which will take place at a floor price of 10 rupees per share, will open for bids from April 18 to April 22, said Vodafone Idea, the country's third-largest telecom carrier by number of subscribers.

Shares of Vodafone Idea were down 2.3 per cent at 12.65 rupees in early trade.

The largest FPO before this was a $1.7 billion (Rs 14,171 crores) share sale by Yes Bank in 2020.

Vodafone Idea also plans to raise an additional $2.9 billion (Rs 24,174 crores) through debt for which it has been in talks with lenders, without specifying details.

The company said it would use the equity and debt funding to roll out its 5G network service within six to seven months of securing the funds and expand its 4G coverage.

Larger rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have already launched their 5G services in most parts of the country.

Formed in August 2018 as a merger between the Indian arm of UK's Vodafone and Aditya Birla Group's Idea Cellular, the telecom operator has since posted a loss in every quarter since then as subscribers have increasingly switched to rivals.

The company reported total debt of $25.7 billion (Rs 2.14 lakh crores), as of December 31, 2023, including deferred spectrum payment obligations it owes to the government.

Its cash and cash equivalents stood at 3.19 billion rupees for the period.

($1 = 83.3150 Indian rupees)