Authorities stake in Vodafone Thought to leap to 48.99% after ₹36,950 crore fairness conversion

Vodafone Thought is about to cede practically half its possession to Centre, marking a pivotal second within the telecom sector’s ongoing overhaul. On Sunday, the corporate stated it’ll situation recent fairness shares value ₹36,950 crore, elevating the Centre’s stake within the struggling telco to 48.99%.

The transfer follows the federal government’s 2021 telecom aid bundle and comes simply weeks after CEO Akshaya Moondra made a direct attraction to the Division of Telecommunications for pressing fairness conversion approvals. 

The recent infusion is anticipated to ease strain from mounting dues and regulatory payouts.

The fairness conversion is a part of the September 2021 Reforms and Help Bundle for the Telecom Sector. Vodafone Thought (VI) stated its excellent spectrum public sale dues—together with these deferred and repayable after the moratorium interval—will probably be transformed into fairness shares issued to the Authorities of India underneath Part 62(4) of the Firms Act, 2013.

The acquisition was conveyed to the corporate through an order dated March 29 and obtained on Sunday.

As per the directive, VI will situation 3,695 crore fairness shares of face worth ₹10 every at a difficulty worth of ₹10 per share. The corporate should full the issuance inside 30 days of receiving vital regulatory clearances, together with from the Securities and Trade Board of India (SEBI).

The pricing of the shares has been decided based mostly on the upper of the volume-weighted common worth over the past 90 buying and selling days or the final 10 buying and selling days previous the related date, which is February 26, 2025. That is topic to Part 53 of the Firms Act, 2013.

Following the issuance, the federal government’s holding will leap from 22.60% to roughly 48.99%. Regardless of the elevated stake, operational management will stay with the promoters—UK’s Vodafone Plc and the Aditya Birla Group.

VI stated it’ll take all vital steps to finish the fairness issuance as soon as all approvals are in place.

The announcement comes shortly after CEO Akshaya Moondra urged the Division of Telecommunications to fast-track the approval of fairness conversions totaling ₹36,950 crore. “On an NPV (web current worth) protected foundation, which might increase the federal government shareholding in VI to 49%,” Moondra had stated in his attraction.