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The promoters of Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) , the country’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, pumped in Rs 17,920 crore into the company through the rights issue, increasing their stake marginally to 71.57 per cent. This is about Rs 90 crore more than their aggregate rights issue entitlement.
Prior to this, the promoters – UK-based Vodafone Group and India’s Aditya Birla Group - holding was at 71.33 per cent, the company said in a statement.
“The successful closure of rights issue is a clear indication of the investors’ belief in our post-merger strategy and our ability to leverage the growth opportunities offered by the sector. We are progressing well on integration and are well on track to deliver our synergy targets,” Balesh Sharma, CEO at VIL said.
“Our ongoing investments are improving broadband coverage and capacity, enabling us to offer a superior network experience to our customers as well as enhancing our ability to win new broadband customers,” he added.
VIL’s rights issue, the largest in the country, had opened on April 10 and closed on April 24. It was over-subscribed by a little over 100 per cent and had crossed Rs 25,000 crore in value terms.
The promoters had committed to infuse up to Rs 18,250 crore. The issue comprised up to 2,000 crore shares at Rs 12.5 a share for shareholders of record date April 2, 2019.
The rights issue received “strong support” from both existing shareholders and other investors, with participation from both domestic and foreign public shareholders. The issue was oversubscribed by about 1.08 times and the public participation was about 1.2 times.
“This funding along with the monetisation of our stake in Indus Towers will allow us to make the required investments in the business to achieve our strategic goals,” Akshaya Moondra, CFO at VIL, said.
The new shares of VIL are expected to be listed on the BSE and NSE on or around May 10.
Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, DSP Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley India Company, HDFC Bank and SBI Capital Markets were the lead managers to the rights issue.
VIL’s Capital Raising Committee, which met on Saturday, approved the allotment of shares to the eligible shareholders including renouncees, concluding the rights issue.
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