Vi board to consider Rs 2K crore preferential issue to Vodafone Group

The board of Vodafone Idea (Vi) will consider a proposal to raise Rs 2,000 crore from entities belonging to promoter Vodafone Group through a preferential issue on December 9.  The debt-laden telco's board will consider the issue of equity shares and/or convertible securities, Vi said in an exchange filing on Thursday. The development comes a day after British telecom giant Vodafone PLC announced plans to liquidate its holdings in mobile tower infrastructure company Indus Towers by selling its remaining 3 per cent stake.  Pegged at Rs 2,840 crore, the transaction will allow Vodafone to repay its outstanding dues of $101 million, or about Rs 856 crore, and use the residual amount to pay the outstanding dues of its Indian venture, Vodafone Idea. Back in June, Vodafone had sold 484.7 million shares, or an 18 per cent stake, in Indus Towers through block deals, raising Rs 15,300 crore.  Among the promoters in Vi, Vodafone Group holds a 22.56 per cent stake, while the Aditya Birla Group holds 14.76 per cent. The government has a 23.15 per cent stake.  Vi's total payment obligations to the government stood at Rs 2.12 trillion at the end of Q2, including deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1.41 trillion. The telco also owed an Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) liability of Rs 70,320 crore to the government.