Idea cuts gains to end 10% lower after board clears merger with Vodafone

Other telecom stocks like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Reliance Industries end flat

Shares of Idea Cellular turned volatile after the company said its board has approved the scheme of amalgamation of Vodafone India and its wholly owned subsidiary Vodafone Mobile Services with the company.

The stock rallied 15% to Rs 124 in the early trade only to settle the trade 10% down at Rs 97 on the NSE. 
 

Since January 27, 2017, Idea Cellular has zoomed 44% after Vodafone reportedly confirmed that it is in merger talks with Idea Cellular. The stock trading close to its 52-week high of Rs 128 touched on April 28, 2016 in intra-day trade.

Since January 27, 2017, Idea Cellular has zoomed 44% after Vodafone reportedly confirmed that it is in merger talks with Idea Cellular. The stock trading close to its 52-week high of Rs 128 touched on April 28, 2016 in intra-day trade.

Meanwhile, other telecom stocks like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Reliance Industries ended flat on the BSE.

Idea Cellular said Vodafone to own 45.1% of combined company after transferring a stake of around 4.9% to Idea promoters for Rs 3,874 crore in cash concurrent with the completion of the amalgamation.

The Aditya Birla Group, promoters of Idea Cellular, will then owns 26% and has the right to acquire more shares from Vodafone under an agreed mechanism with a view to equalising the shareholdings over time, it added.

“This landmark combination will enable the Aditya Birla Group to create high quality digital infrastructure that will transition the Indian population towards a digital lifestyle and make the Government’s Digital India vision a reality,” said Aditya Birla Group Chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla.

The transaction is expected to close during calendar year 2018, subject to customary approvals.

Company	27/01/2017	17/03/2017	% chg	LTP	% chg
Idea Cellular	77.80	107.90	38.69	111.80	3.61
Rel. Comm.	30.90	38.25	23.79	38.60	0.92
Bharti Airtel	323.45	346.80	7.22	347.45	0.19
Reliance Inds.	1025.15	1300.65	26.87	1299.60	-0.08
Sensex	27882.46	29648.99	6.34	29536.05	-0.38
LTP : Last traded price on BSE in Rs at 09:51 am