GQG Partners invest in Vodafone Idea
In the meeting of the Board of Directors of the company held on April 16, 2024, the allotment of 4,90,90,90,908 equity shares to anchor investors was decided in consultation with the book running lead managers. The anchor investor allocation price is Rs 11 per equity share, the company said in its BSE filing.
In its meeting held yesterday, crisis-hit Vodafone Idea (VIL) revealed that GQG Partners has invested heavily in the firm, along with other major investors, which include Morgan Stanley India Investment Fund, UBS, Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius, Goldman Sachs and Fidelity. The company has raised approximately Rs 5,400 crore from both global and domestic investors. VILs domestic investors include Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, SBI General Insurance and Quant Mutual Fund.
Previously, GQG Partners had also bought stake in many Adani-group companies like Adani Enterprises, Adani Port, Adani Power, Adani Energy Solutions Limited and Adani Green Energy. Additionally, right before its mega follow-on public offer (FPO) opens for retail investors, Vodafone-Idea also announced the closure of its anchor book allotment, which was subscribed by the aforementioned investors. VILs follow-on public offer will be open for public investors from 18-22 April.
In the meeting of the Board of Directors of the company held on April 16, 2024, the allotment of 4,90,90,90,908 equity shares to anchor investors was decided in consultation with the book running lead managers. The anchor investor allocation price is Rs 11 per equity share, the company said in its BSE filing.
Notably, VILs FPO could very well be the third-largest anchor book subscription after One 97 Communications, which raised Rs 8,235 crores and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which raised Rs 5,627 crores in their anchor round respectively.
It is noteworthy that Vodafone Idea is currently lagging far behind its arch rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. In such a situation, this amount raised from investors will help VIL in strengthening 5G rollout and its 4G services. Saddled with a Rs 2.1 lakh crore debt and consistent losses, both in terms of revenue and subscribers, VIL is fighting for its survival, which will be bolstered by this FPO. This year, VIL lost 15.2 lakh subscribers, which plunged its mobile
VIL lost 15.2 lakh wireless subscribers, plunging its already dwindling mobile subscriber base to 22.15 crore in December, 2023. In contrast, Reliance Jio added 39.9 Lakh wireless subscribers to its user base, followed by Airtel, which added 18.5 lakh users to its base.