MTNL seeks shareholders' nod to raise funds, monetise land and holdings

State-owned MTNL on Wednesday said it will seek shareholders' nod for monetisation of land and buildings as well as for raising up to Rs 6,500 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) said the company's extraordinary general meeting will be held on January 8, 2020, in this regard.

The company would seek shareholders' approval for issue of non-convertible redeemable non-cumulative preference shares (NCRNCPS) on a private placement basis to the government towards payment of 4G spectrum cost.

"...approval of the members be and is hereby accorded to authorise the board...to offer or invite or invite subscriptions for government guaranteed, unsecured, listed, redeemable non-convertible debentures in the nature of bonds (NCDs), in one or more series / tranches, aggregating up to Rs 6500 crores on private placement basis..." it said.

Approval is also being sought for monetisation of land and buildings as specified/ identified by its board in line with the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) guidelines and as per revival plan of the company approved by the Union Cabinet recently.

The consent of the shareholders is also being sought for opening of an escrow account for "ring-fencing the proceeds from monetisation of assets for use by the company under revival/restructuring plan".

Another item pertains to monetisation of towers and fiber assets, including leasing, after considering the market conditions with an aim to "maximise returns as per the revival plan of the company".

MTNL plans to issue non-convertible redeemable non-cumulative preference shares (NCRNCPS) on a private placement basis to the government towards the payment of spectrum cost of 4G. This entails allotment of up to 62.95 crore preference shares of a face value of Rs 100 each fully paid-up at par at an issue price of Rs 100 aggregating to Rs 6,295 crore.

The government recently approved a Rs 69,000-crore revival package for BSNL and MTNL that includes merging the two loss-making firms, monetising their assets and giving voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to employees so that the combined entity turns profitable in two years.

The companies have already announced VRS schemes and as per official estimates, 78,569 employees of BSNL and 14,387 employees of MTNL have opted for VRS.