In what will come as welcome relief and a good start to its fund raising drive, Vodafone has seen participation by 74 anchor investors. Notably, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are engaged in a fierce battle for subscribers with Vodafone Idea. Also known as Vi, the company has fallen into turbulent times over the recent years, and needs fresh infusion of funds to pay off its massive debt, for expansion purposes and much more just to make sure it stays relevant and alive in the market.
This fundraising drive, through the Vodafone Idea FPO, is worth ₹18000 crore. And now, it has been revealed that anchor investors have ploughed in as much as ₹5400 crore to start the follow-on public offer process.
Among the big names in this long list are Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Fidelity, UBS, GQG Partners, The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Citigroup Global Markets, Quant, Australian Super, and Motilal Oswal, MoneyControl reports.
Of the total shares in the anchor investor quota, as much as 26%, worth ₹1,345 crore, have been allocated to GQG Partners. Fidelity Investments invested ₹772 crore, Troo Capital will enter with ₹331 crore and Australian Super with ₹130 crore. About 16.2 percent ( ₹874 crore) of the total allocation for anchor investors went to five domestic mutual funds. Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund invested as much as ₹500 crore, according to MoneyControl.
The Vodafone Idea FPO is scheduled to open on April 18.
Vodafone Idea Plans
Vodafone Idea management had held a press conference on Monday last and indicated the company is looking to cover, with 5G services, subscribers accounting for 40% of its revenue and even set a 24-30 month deadline.
Also, after the funds become available, the company indicated it will raise orders for 5G network equipment and then launch 5G services in certain specific areas within 6-9 months of the conclusion of the FPO.
