Committed to Vodafone Idea, efforts on to get investors: Kumar Mangalam Birla

Billionaire industrialist and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on Thursday underlined the group's firm commitment to cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea, and asserted that efforts are on to rope in external investors.

Soon after Birla made the comment, Vodafone Idea (VIL) informed the stock exchanges that the telco's board will meet on February 27 to consider fundraising proposals.

Speaking at the launch of the Grasim Industries' new decorative paints business, Birla said, "We remain very committed to Vodafone Idea and like we have said in public domain, efforts are on to get outside investors."

On how soon such investors could be onboarded, Birla told PTI, "We are making good progress but can't put in a timeline." In a statutory filing, VIL said the board of directors will consider and evaluate all proposals for "raising of funds in one or more tranches by way of a rights issue, further public offer, private placement, including preferential allotment, qualified institutions placement or through any other permissible mode and/or combination".

The capital raise could be by way of issue of equity shares or by way of any instruments, including "securities convertible into equity shares, Global Depository Receipts, American Depository Receipts, or bonds, including foreign currency convertible bonds, convertible debentures, warrants, and/or non-convertible debentures including non-convertible debentures, along with warrants, which may or may not be listed".

"... The Board of Directors of Vodafone Idea Ltd will be held on Tuesday that is 27 February, 2024, to consider and evaluate any and all proposals for raising of funds in one or more tranches...," the BSE filing said.

VIL has been struggling to raise capital for the past several quarters, with the cash crunch impacting its ability to invest, expand and settle vendor dues. Its troubles have been compounded by continuous loss of subscribers.

The government holding in VIL is pegged at 33.1 per cent after it converted the accrued interest towards statutory dues into equity in 2023. Vodafone Plc and Aditya Birla Group together hold 50.3 per cent in VIL.