Vodafone Plc exits Indus Towers, sells shares worth Rs 2,800 crore

The British telecom giant has paid back Rs 890 crore to lenders and acquired a stake worth Rs 1,910 crore in Vi

British telecom giant Vodafone Plc has completed its exit from mobile tower infrastructure company Indus Towers, liquidating its remaining 3 per cent stake in the company for Rs 2,800 crore, it informed the London Stock Exchange on Friday.

 

It sold the remaining 79.2 million shares in Indus Towers through an 'accelerated book-build offering' on December 5, it said.

 

The company had been trimming its stake in Indus Towers for some time. In June last year, Vodafone sold 18 per cent stake in Indus Towers through block deals, raising Rs 15,300 crore.

 

The latest transaction allowed Vodafone to repay its outstanding borrowings of Rs 890 crore to its existing lenders, secured against Vodafone's Indian assets.

 

The security package agreed upon during the merger of erstwhile Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers stipulated that Vodafone Plc's 21 per cent stake in Indus Towers was the primary pledge by its lenders against the $1.4 billion loan Vodafone Plc had taken in 2019 to participate in Idea's rights issue.

 

Indus Towers has a secondary pledge on Vodafone Plc’s original 21 per cent stake, J P Morgan had said in June.

 

Vodafone Plc utilised the residual proceeds from the latest transaction — Rs 1,910 crore—to enhance its stake in telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi).

 

Two Vodafone Plc entities, Omega Holdings Private Limited and Usha Martin Telematics Limited, have been issued 1.7 billion equity shares through a preferential allotment by Vi, announced by the board last month.