Vodafone Idea Ltd. on Tuesday said the board has approved the conversion of the full amount of interest related to spectrum auction instalments and AGR dues into equity with this the Indian government will become the single-largest shareholder of the company with a 35.8% stake and the promoter shareholders would hold 28.5% (Vodafone Group) and around 17.8% (Aditya Birla Group), respectively.
“The Net Present Value (NPV) of this interest is expected to be about Rs 16,000 crore as per the Company’s best estimates, subject to confirmation by the DoT. Since the average price of the Company’s shares at the relevant date of 14.08.2021 was below par value, the equity shares will be issued to the Government at par value of Rs 10/- per share, subject to final confirmation by the DoT. The conversion will therefore result in dilution to all the existing shareholders of the Company, including the Promoters,” the company said in a statement.
The telecom stated that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had offered Vodafone Idea a few options regarding the Telecom Reforms Package. The board had opted for deferment of Spectrum Auction Instalments due upto 4 years, and deferment of AGR-related dues by 4 years in the meetings held on October 18 and October 27 last year.
The DoT had also offered the company a period of 90 days to exercise the option of converting the interest that would accrue on instalment payment during the moratorium period into equity. The NPV of the amount was to be calculated as on the date of exercise of the option.