Vodafone Idea, raised Rs 5,400 crore from 74 anchor investors on Wednesday, days before its follow-on public offering (FPO) begins on April 18 for retail investors.
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The telecom company announced that the investors include big names like GQG Partners, The Master Trust Bank of Japan, UBS, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Citigroup Global Markets, Australian Super, Fidelity, Quant, and Motilal Oswal.
The company offered 491 crore shares to these anchor investors at Rs 11 per share. Among them, the highest chunk, accounting for 26% of the total shares, went to GQG Partners from the US, valued at Rs 1,345 crore.
Fidelity Investments invested about Rs 772 crore, Troo Capital and Australian Super put in Rs 331 crore and Rs 130 crore respectively.
A portion of about 16.2% of the total allocation, equivalent to Rs 874 crore, was allocated to five domestic mutual funds. The top position was secured by Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund with an investment of Rs 500 crores.
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The telecom comoany is aiming to raise Rs 18,000 crore through India’s largest follow-on public offering (FPO), scheduled to open on Thursday, April 18, and conclude on April 22.
This capital will be utilised to set up new 5G sites, expand the existing 4G network, and delay spectrum payments, according to its red herring prospectus (RHP).
Out of the total FPO proceeds, Rs 12,750 crore will be directed towards purchasing equipment for network expansion. The company plans to allocate Rs 5,720 crore from this sum to establish its 5G network. In the fiscal year 2025, they aim to set up 10,000 new 5G sites with an expenditure of Rs 2,600 crore.
They plan to establish 12,000 additional 5G sites, spending Rs 3,120 crore by the fiscal year 2026.
During a recent press conference, Vodafone Idea’s management disclosed their plan to cover subscribers contributing to 40% of their revenue with 5G services within the next 24-30 months.
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They mentioned that orders for 5G network equipment will begin once funding is secured. They anticipate rolling out 5G services in select areas within 6-9 months of the offering.
