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Idea Cellular board today approved raising of about Rs 3,250 crore from the entities under the promoter Aditya Birla Group through issuance of 32.66 crore equity shares on a preferential basis. The board has formed a panel to evaluate potential routes for raising further capital of up to Rs 3,500 crore.
“The board of directors of Idea Cellular Ltd (Idea) today approved issuance of about 326.6 million equity shares, face value of Rs 10 per share, at a price of Rs 99.50 per share (in accordance with SEBI ICDR Regulations) on a preferential basis,” the statement said.
The shares will be issued to entities under Aditya Birla Group -- Birla TMT Holdings Pvt Ltd, Elaine Investments Pte Ltd (Singapore), Oriana Investments Pte Ltd (Singapore), Surya Kiran Investments Pte Ltd (Singapore), the statement said.
“The aggregate capital infusion will be of Rs 3,250 crore,” the statement said.
The issue is expected to complete by early February 2018, subject to regulatory approvals, after which the promoter group shareholding will increase to about 47.2 per cent from the existing level of around 42.4 per cent.
“The Aditya Birla Group remains committed towards the telecom business. The group is in the process of creating a large digital infrastructure...At a time when the telecom industry is going through a challenging environment, this equity infusion by the Group in Idea is another step towards reinforcing the group’s commitment,” Idea Cellular Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said.
Idea will further explore potential ways of raising additional funds to the tune of around Rs 3,500 crore which would include preferential issue, qualified institutional placement (QIP), and rights issue. The company will also explore potential monetisation of its 11.15 per cent stake in Indus Towers -- its joint venture with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.
According to a company statement, during the first nine months of the financial year 2017- 18, Idea has added over 33,500 wireless broadband sites and currently it has about 143,500 broadband sites. Idea also has plans to launch its VoLTE (Voice over 4G network) services in 2018.
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