Vodafone Group UK might be planning to sell the complete stake in the Indian mobile tower company, Indus Towers. The company recently sold a 2.4% stake in Indus Towers to unnamed investors. The British telecom giant was also looking to sell a 4.7% stake in the tower company to Bharti Airtel so that it can infuse the proceeds into Vodafone Idea (Vi) as fresh capital against equity and some of it to clear outstanding dues of Vi with Indus Towers. Now, an ET report suggests that Vodafone UK might be looking to sell a complete 21% stake in Indus Towers through block deals to the American Tower Corporation (ATC), Brookfield, Crown Castle International, and others.
Vodafone Group UK Might be Able to Raise Rs 11,571 Crore
According to the market cap of Rs 55,000 crore Indus Towers on Tuesday, the company’s 567.2 million shares in the company are valued at Rs 11,571 crore. If the sale goes through, Vodafone Group UK might be able to raise around that much money. Note that there’s no commitment from Vodafone UK that it will use all the proceeds to infuse in Vodafone Idea (Vi), but it would be great for the Indian telco shall Vodafone UK decide that. Vodafone UK is keen to close the sale in the first quarter of the next financial year while the bankers want the British telecom giant to wait for a little so that the market conditions can improve a little. What’s worth noting here is that out of the said amount, Vodafone UK might only be left with a Rs 1,000 crore for any further equity infusion in Vodafone Idea as it had pledged part of its Indus Towers stake worth Rs 11,000 crore with lenders to fund contribution to Vi’s rights issue in 2019. Bharti Airtel had also shown interest in buying the 4.7% equity stake in Indus Towers that Vodafone Group UK is willing to sell right now.
