MUMBAI, INDIA: The Board of Vodafone Idea Limited has approved issuance of 20 billion fully paid up equity shares (face value of Rs10 each) at a price of Rs12.5/share by way of a rights issue to the eligible shareholders as on the record date April 02, 2019.[the_ad id=”32940″]The rights entitlement is determined as 87 equity shares for 38 equity shares held by the eligible shareholders. The issue will open on April 10, 2019 and will close on April 24, 2019, a statement issued to Bombay Stock Exchange said.
Board of Directors of Vodafone Idea Limited on January 23, 2019 approved the offer and issue of fully paid-up and/or partly paid-up equity shares and/or other equity linked instruments by way of a rights issue to the eligible shareholders of the Company for an amount aggregating up to Rs. 250 billion in accordance with the applicable laws.
The Promoter shareholders (Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group) confirmed their participation of up to Rs. 110 billion and up to Rs. 72.5 billion respectively; in excess of their combined current entitlement. Furthermore, certain Promoter shareholders have also indicated that, in case the rights issue is undersubscribed, they reserve the right to subscribe to part or whole amount of the unsubscribed portion, subject to the applicable laws.
The Company is progressing well on its stated strategy post-merger. With the accelerated integration of two businesses, the Company announced in November 2018 that the guided cost synergies would be achieved by FY2021, two years ahead of the initial target set at the time of the original merger announcement in March 2017.
Balesh Sharma, CEO Vodafone Idea limited, said, “With strong assets such as two leading brands, Idea and Vodafone, the largest spectrum portfolio and a well invested network, we are well placed to exploit the growth opportunities ahead of us. The proceeds from the rights issue coupled with the monetization of our stake in Indus will allow us to make the required investments in the business to achieve our strategic goals. We are moving faster than initially estimated on integration, and are well on track to deliver our synergy targets, the improving broadband coverage and capacity will enable us to offer a superior network experience to our customers as well as enhance our ability to add more broadband customers.”