The Vodafone Idea’s Rs 25,000 crore rights issue which is slated to open on April 10 as a new twist to it. Malaysia’s Axiata Group Berhad is unlikely to participate in company’s Rs 25,000 crore rights issue.
According to the Economic Times, Axiata Group has reduced its stake in the company from 8.1% to roughly 2.6%. “Axiata hasn’t made any material investments into Idea Cellular over the years and also not in Vodafone Idea,” a source close to the matter told the leading news portal. Axiata Group has indicated that it will remain invested in Vodafone Idea and has no intention of exiting the India market at this juncture.
The Aditya Birla Group holds a 26.55 % of stakes in Vodafone-Idea limited, while Vodafone has 44.78 % of stakes. The Vodafone Group will infuse Rs 11,000 crore and Aditya Birla Group will infuse Rs 7,250 crore in the rights issue. The rights issue opens Wednesday and closes on April 24.
The promoter shareholders — Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group — have reiterated to the board that they intend to contribute up to Rs 11,000 crore and up to Rs 7,250 crore respectively, amounting to a total of Rs 18,250 crore, as part of the rights issue. The board of directors of Vodafone Idea on March 20 cleared the planned Rs 25,000-crore rights issue at a price of Rs 12.50 per equity share, a steep 61 percent discount to the prevailing market rate. In a regulatory filing, the company had said the rights entitlement ratio has been fixed at 87 equity shares for every 38 shares held by eligible shareholders of the company on the record date, that is April 2, 2019.