Vodafone Idea's Rs 18,000 cr FPO may attract big investors. Is it worth your money?
Vodafone Idea (VI), which has been plagued by losses and subscriber erosion, is coming up with a follow-on public offer (FPO) on April 18.
The Rs 18,000 crore share sale is expected to attract some marquee investors including GQG Partners, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, AustralianSuper, Fidelity among others.
Bloomberg reported that GQG will place bids for equity worth at least $300 million and as much as $400 million, which might come as a shot in the arm for the telco.
Despite the backing of big funds, analysts are quite cautious about retail investors putting their money into the FPO, the largest on D-Street so far.
Even though the offer might be a step in the right direction and alleviate some of the company's concerns, one cannot be sure on how long it will take for the company to show some profitability and reduce debt significantly. The telco hasn’t reported an annual profit since 2016.
Analysts further said given the size of the FPO, investors are selling shares in the secondary market and planning to apply in the primary market.
«The FPO will bring big funds and it will get oversubscribed. But, investors must not expect major listing gains and avoid taking a blind call. Its a loss making company and cant see them being profitable in the next 12-18 months,» said Avinash Gorakshakar of Profitmart Securities.
VI is the third largest telco in India based on subscriber base. The company is raising funds for capex purposes of increasing its network infrastructure by expanding the capacity of the
