Vodafone Idea May Welcome Amazon, Verizon Investment

After India’s Supreme Court gave Vodafone Idea and other telecomm companies an extended time allowance to settle their back fees, the firm moved through the motion towards a funding plan to raise $1.5 billion.

With this, the biggest digital economy drivers, Amazon and Verizon, are considering their participation in the offering.

Reports said that the two giants might invest $4 billion or more on the Vodafone Idea stake.

After the news spread on the Indian stock market, stocks experienced an unprecedented rally at 30%. This signifies the weight of trust that the Indian market places on the two American digital service providers.

The Indian telecomm’s company hits record high before it closed at 26.77% increase, driven by the fundraising plan’s positive news.

However, the festivities halted shortly. Representatives from Vodafone Idea were quick to dismiss the reports.

They said that the company had not received investment proposals from the US wireless carrier nor the e-commerce giant.

Although it added that it is continuously in search of opportunities that will enhance stockholder yields.

Supreme Court’s Consideration

After the law governing body gave Vodafone and other telecomm firms an adjusted timeline to settle their dues, the firm made an advance to raise about $1.5 billion of new cash through a share sale.

Vodafone Idea is a joint venture between British telecommunications company Vodafone Group Plc and Idea Cellular, owned by the Aditya Birla group. The two operators respectively own 44.39% and 27.18% of Voda-Idea’s total stake.

Telecommunications companies owe a total of $19 billion back fees to the Indian government from their adjusted gross revenue.

The joint venture still has an outstanding $6.8 billion payable, to be settled in the next ten years.

In May this year, Vodafone Idea’s share price jumped 31% when Google was reportedly eyeing to buy 5% of the stake from the firm.