Idea Cellular to raise Rs 3,250 cr from promoter group; will mull options for additional Rs 3,500 cr funding

New Delhi: The Idea Cellular board on Thursday approved raising about Rs 3,250 crore from the entities under the promoter Aditya Birla Group by issuing 32.66 crore equity shares on a preferential basis. Idea Cellular Board has formed a panel to evaluate potential routes for raising further capital of up to Rs 3,500 crore. “The Board of Directors of Idea Cellular Limited (Idea), on Thursday approved issuance of about 326.6 million equity shares, face value of Rs 10 per share, at a price of Rs 99.50 per share (in accordance with SEBI ICDR Regulations) on preferential basis,” the statement said. The shares will be issued to entities under Aditya Birla Group – Birla TMT Holdings Private Limited, Elaine Investments Pte Ltd (Singapore), Oriana Investments Pte Ltd (Singapore), Surya Kiran Investments Pte Ltd (Singapore), the statement said. [caption id=“attachment_4199981” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] “The aggregate capital infusion will be of Rs 32,500 million,” the statement said. The issue is expected to complete by early February, 2018, subject to regulatory approvals, post which the shareholding of Promoter group in Idea will increase to about 47.2 percent from existing level of around 42.4 percent. “The Aditya Birla Group remains committed towards the telecom business. The group is in the process of creating a large digital infrastructure…At a time when the telecom industry is going through a challenging environment, this equity infusion by the Group in Idea is another step towards reinforcing the group’s commitment,” Idea Cellular Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said. Idea will further explore potential ways of raising additional fund to the tune of around Rs 3,500 crore which would include further preferential issue, qualified institutional placement (QIP), rights issue etc. Idea will also explore potential monetisation of company’s 11.15 percent stake in Indus Towers – its joint venture with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. During the first nine months of the financial year 2017-18, Idea has added over 33,500 wireless broadband sites and currently it has about 143,500 broadband sites, as per the statement. Idea also has plans to launch its VoLTE (Voice over 4G network) services in 2018.