Vodafone Idea (Vi) is all set to raise Rs 436 crore from its current largest promoter – Vodafone Group UK. Things have slightly changed for the telco in the last year. With the government relief package, Vodafone Idea is in a much better position as a going concern than it was at the same time last year. The telco was also finding it hard to raise additional funds from promoters because of a poor business outlook. But, now, the telco is planning to raise Rs 436 crore from Vodafone UK.
Vodafone Idea’s shareholders have approved the fundraising. The telco conducted an extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on July 15, 2022, at 12:30 PM. Stockholders or shareholders of the company were provided with an e-voting facility at the EGM.
Vodafone Idea Shareholders in Agreement with Telco’s Plans
In a submission to the stock exchanges, Vi said that 99.94% of the votes were in favour of the move to raise Rs 436 crore from Vodafone Group UK, while merely 0.6% were against it. This means that the telco can now go ahead and raise money from Vodafone.
When will it exactly happen is something that’s in the dark right now! Vodafone Group UK hasn’t released any statement around the same and is probably going to be quiet only. While the said amount that Vi is looking to raise from the Vodafone Group is likely not going to make any major impact on the business operations, it is still Rs 436 crore more than zero. For Vi, something is better than nothing in this case.
The telco is struggling to expand its shrinking subscriber base. While Vi has performed well in some of the circles, the same needs to be replicated in every part of the country as fast as possible to make an impact. Vodafone Idea needs more funds in its books to fuel capex as well as invest in the spectrum during the 5G spectrum auction.