'Fresh Lease Of Life For Vodafone Idea': Kumar Mangalam Birla Says After VI's Rs 18,000 Cr FPO

Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla hailed Vodafone Idea’s recent Rs 18,000-crore fundraise as a significant boost, characterising it as a “fresh lease of life” for the telecommunications company.

The company, which has been struggling to hold on to subscribers amid very heavy competition in the sector, will focus on increasing its network and selectively introduce 5G services, Birla told reporters at the listing ceremony of the follow-on public offer.

When asked if most of the problems for the company will get sorted with the capital raise, Birla answered in the affirmative.

“And this is like a sort of fresh lease of life for the company,” news agency PTI quoted Biral as saying.

Vodafone Idea FPO

On Thursday, the opening price of Vodafone Idea FPO shares stood at Rs 11.80 per share on the NSE, marking a 7.27% increase from the issue price of Rs 11.

Meanwhile, on the BSE, the opening price for Vodafone Idea FPO shares today was Rs 12 each, reflecting a 9% rise from the issue price.

The telecom provider commenced its subscription period on Thursday, April 18, concluding on Monday, April 22. Each share was priced at Rs 11, which was at the upper end of the price band set at Rs 10-11.

Vodafone Idea’s board has fixed the FPO offer price at Rs 11 per equity share, according to a regulatory filing.

Debt-laden telecom operator has raised Rs 18,000 crore pulling off India’s largest-ever follow-on public offering (FPO) as the issue got subscribed nearly seven times after institutional investors poured in money, stock exchange data showed on Monday evening.

Before this, the largest FPO in the Indian market was a Rs 15,000 crore share sale by YES Bank in 2020.

The fundraise would give the ailing telco the firepower to improve its positioning in the Indian telecom market, where it currently trails larger rivals such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, by a wide margin.

The funds will also help Vodafone Idea shore up finances for the much-delayed 5G roll-out and strengthening 4G services and payment of vendor dues.