Cash-strapped telecom major Vodafone-Idea on Friday had a crucial board of directors meeting where it was agreed to raise up to Rs 25,000 crore via equity shares, debentures and other instruments.
The funds will be raised in one or more tranches via multiple instruments including issuing equity shares or securities convertible into equity shares, global depository receipts, American depository receipts, foreign currency convertible bonds, convertible debentures, warrants, composite issue of non-convertible debentures and warrants entitling the warrant holder(s) to apply for equity shares or a combination thereof up to an aggregate amount of Rs. 15,000 crore by way a public issue, preferential allotment, private placement, qualified institutions placement or through any other permissible mode in one or more tranches.
This, in addition to the issuance of unsecured and/or secured, non-convertible debentures up to an aggregate amount of Rs. 15,000 crore, by way of public offering or private placement basis or otherwise, in one or more tranches.
The total amount of fund-raising should not exceed Rs 25,000 crore, Pankaj Kapdeo, the Company Secretary, wrote.
These proposals will be taken up at the company’s Annual General Meeting on September 30.
With a ten-year period to pay off its AGR dues (with a staggering balance of Rs 50,399 crore), Vodafone-Idea is the hardest-hit of the other telecom players. However, while the ten-year window is shorter than the 15-20 years Vodafone-Idea had requested, it has given the company a breather—and reportedly led to the group no longer considering filing bankruptcy proceedings and winding up its India operations, according to a Bloomberg report.
In Q2 2019, Vodafone-Idea posted the highest-ever loss for an Indian corporate at Rs 50,921 crore.
