Mumbai, Apr 13: Cash-strapped market by FY28 Vodafone Idea on Friday announced a follow-on public offer of up to Rs 18,000 crore at a price band of Rs 10–11 per share, marking the biggest FPO in the country.The fundraise, which comes close on the heels of a Rs 2,075 crore fund infusion by Aditya Birla Group via a preferential share issue earlier this month, would give the ailing telco the fire-power 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 would also help VIL shore up finances for the much-delayed 5G rollout, strengthen 4G services, and pay vendor dues. VIL has been haemorrhaging subscribers month after month and fighting a desperate battle for survival saddled with debt of Rs 2.1 lakh crore and quarterly losses.
According to a statutory filing on Friday, VIL’s follow-on offer will open on April 18 and close on April 22.
“The Board of Directors of the company, at its meeting held on April 11, 2024, approved a follow-on public offering (FPO) of equity shares, aggregating up to Rs 18,000 crore. The capital raising committee, in its meeting held today, April 12, 2024, approved the price band for the FPO issuance,” the company said in a BSE filing.