Vodafone Idea shares surge 10% as Kumar Mangalam Birla rejoins company board

Shares of Vodafone Idea rallied nearly 10% in Friday's trade after the company announced the appointment of Kumar Mangalam Birla as an Additional Director (Non-Executive and Non-Independent) with effect from 20 April 2023.

At 10:10 am, Vodafone Idea shares were trading at Rs 6.65 on NSE, up 9.92% from Thursday's closing price.

The Indian billionaire has returned to the board of Vodafone Idea as an additional director less than two years after leaving the mobile service provider.

Birla also serves as the chairman of Aditya Birla Group, a conglomerate which has business interests in 14 sectors including cement, insurance and retail.

The Group held held an 18.07% stake in Vodafone Idea as of December 31, according to a Reuters report which quoted data available on Vodafone Idea's website.

Vodafone Idea's net debt stood at Rs 2.23 lakh core ($27.18 billion) before the Indian government in February converted the nearly $2 billion of dues that it was owed into equity, becoming the company's biggest shareholder, this report said.

In 2021, the government approved a rescue package for debt-strapped telecom companies, allowing them to convert interest on deferred adjusted gross revenue owed to the government into equity.

The telecom company said Krishna Kishore Maheshwari, a former top executive at Aditya Birla Group-owned Ultratech Cement, had quit as a non-executive director, citing personal reasons, the Reuters report added.

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