Vi board meets Saturday to discuss Rs 20,000 cr fundraise

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Vodafone Idea (Vi) Wednesday said its board will meet on April 6 to consider raising funds via a preferential share issue.

The move comes after the cash-strapped telco's shareholders cleared a proposal to raise ₹20,000 crore through equity and equity-linked instruments, a move that would give a much needed lifeline to the cash-strapped telco.

The meeting «is scheduled to be held on Saturday, 6th April 2024, inter-alia, to consider proposal for issuance of equity shares and/or convertible securities on a preferential basis,» Vi said in an exchange filing.

Vi's shares closed 0.82% higher at ₹13.55 apiece on the BSE after jumping 4% intraday on Wednesday.

With shareholders' approval in place, the loss-making carrier expects to complete the equity fund raise by the end of June. Promoters of the company will also participate in this round, as previously announced, and are likely to infuse around ₹2,000 crore.

In a report, brokerage CLSA said it has observed keen interest from institutional investors in the UK on Vi's equity-raise plan. An analyst at a Mumbai-brokerage said: «In the near term, Vi's spending on 5G rollout in major cities will help it to arrest the subscriber churn. However, these investments are still way behind the ₹50,000 crore done by Airtel already.»

On February 27, Vi announced that its board of directors had approved the equity financing plan.