By Rama Venkat
BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s Vodafone Idea garnered bids worth 881.30 billion rupees ($10.57 billion) from investors as part of the debt-saddled telecom operator’s plan to raise $2.16 billion in a follow-on public offering (FPO), the country’s largest ever.
Investors bid for 80.12 billion shares, or 6.36 times the shares on offer, at a price band of 10-11 rupees per share, stock exchange data showed on Monday. Vodafone Idea’s stock closed flat at 12.90 rupees.
“This is a good response from investors,” said Arun Kejriwal, founder of Kejriwal Research and Investment Services.
“If the money they are raising will get reinvested into the business and tangible results of that investment are visible in the network, this will give a new lease of life to Vodafone Idea.”
The debt-saddled company, India’s third-largest telecom operator by subscriber count, sold shares worth 54 billion rupees to institutional investors earlier this month.
That, along with the ongoing share sale, is part of Vodafone Idea’s plan to raise 180 billion rupees to expand its network services to catch up with larger rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.
Vodafone Idea said in February it plans to raise 200 billion rupees through equity and 250 billion rupees via debt to roll out its 5G network service and expand its 4G coverage.
It expects to cover 40% of its revenue base with 5G service in the next two to two-and-a-half years. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have already launched 5G services in most parts of the country.
Vodafone Idea’s subscriber base stood at 215.2 million as of the end of December, down from 219.8 million in the preceding quarter and 228.6 million a year before that.
Earlier this month, it said it would raise 20.75 billion rupees, as part of the equity funding, from Aditya Birla Group entity Oriana Investments by issuing preferential shares. ($1 = 83.3500 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
