Vodafone Idea FPO: Vodafone Idea (VIL) has successfully closed its anchor book allocation, securing about Rs 5,400 crore from both global and domestic investors for its upcoming mega Follow-On Public Offering (FPO). This announcement was made through a statutory filing by the company.
This marks the third-largest anchor book allocation, following One 97 Communications and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), who raised Rs 8,235 crore and Rs 5,627 crore, respectively, during their anchor rounds.
VIL said that it has allotted 490.9 crore shares to 74 funds at Rs 11 apiece, which aligns with the upper end of the price band. This translates into a transaction size of Rs 5,400 crore. Of the total allocation to anchor investors, 79.52 crore shares, constituting 16.2 per cent of the total, were allocated to five domestic mutual funds across 11 schemes.
Among the notable investors who were allocated shares are GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Fidelity, UBS Fund Management, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Australian Super, Troo Capital, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius, and Jupiter Fund Management. Domestic investors, including Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, SBI General Insurance, and Quant Mutual Fund, were also allocated shares in the anchor round.
The FPO, with a size of Rs 18,000 crore, is scheduled to open for public subscription on April 18 and conclude on April 22, making it the largest FPO in the country. The price band has been set at Rs 10-11 per share.
This fundraising initiative is expected to provide Vodafone Idea with the necessary capital to enhance its position in the Indian telecom market, where it currently lags behind larger competitors such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. The funds will also facilitate the company's efforts in the much-anticipated 5G rollout, strengthening 4G services, and clearing vendor dues.
Earlier this month, the VIL Board approved raising Rs 2,075 crore from its promoter, Aditya Birla Group, and increasing its authorised share capital to Rs 1 lakh crore. Vodafone Idea had previously outlined plans to raise Rs 45,000 crore through a combination of equity and debt to better compete with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel and address significant subscriber losses.
Vodafone Idea continues to grapple with its financial challenges, burdened by a debt of Rs 2.1 lakh crore and quarterly losses. According to Trai data, the company witnessed a loss of 15.2 lakh wireless subscribers in January, reducing its mobile subscriber base to 22.15 crore, while Jio and Airtel recorded subscriber gains during the same period.