CORPORATE
Vodafone to sell 3% stake in Indus Towers, use sale proceeds to repay debt
- IBJ Bureau
- Dec 05, 2024
The Vodafone Group has announced that it is selling its entire remaining stake in Indus Towers. The divestment of 7.92 crore shares, equivalent to 3 per cent of Indus’ outstanding share capital, marks Vodafone’s complete exit from the telecom infrastructure company. The stake will be sold through an accelerated book-building offer, with proceeds primarily aimed at repaying debt.
The UK-based telecom giant has said that the funds will first go towards repaying approximately $101 million in outstanding borrowings secured against its Indian assets. Any residual proceeds from the sale are intended to participate in a proposed equity issuance by Vodafone Idea, aimed at addressing Vodafone’s outstanding Master Services Agreement (MSA) dues to Indus Towers.
According to security arrangements between Vodafone and Indus, any unsold shares or unused proceeds will be allocated to guarantee Vodafone’s obligations under the MSAs. Vodafone has said that further updates will be provided once Vodafone’s board of directors finalises the terms for the proposed equity issuance.
Following this transaction, Vodafone’s stake in Indus Towers will fall below 1 per cent. Prior to this, Vodafone had held 8.25 crore shares, representing a 3.1 per cent stake in Indus Towers.
In June, Vodafone had sold an 18 per cent stake in Indus Towers for nearly Rs 15,300 crore. The current transaction is valued at around Rs 2,841 crore, based on the closing price of Indus Towers stock at Rs 358.75 per share on the BSE Wednesday.
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