Vi’s FPO worth Rs 180 billion receives full subscription (India)
Vodafone Idea Limited’s (Vi) follow-on public offer (FPO) worth Rs 180 billion was subscribed seven times. It was subscribed fully on the last day of bidding, driven by healthy interest from institutional and non-institutional investors (NIIs), both of which are fully subscribed. The qualified institutional buyer (QIB) portion of the share sale was bought 17.6 times, with 82 per cent of the bids coming from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). In addition, the high net worth individual (HNI) portion of the offer garnered 4.13 times subscription. However, the retail portion remained undersubscribed, garnering bids for just 91 per cent of shares on offer. Despite this, the FPO attracted over 1.1 million applications. Anchor investors such as GQG Partners, UBS, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Australian Super and Fidelity, and domestic mutual funds such as Quant and Motilal Oswal committed Rs 54 billion. The issue was priced at Rs 10-Rs 11 per share.
ATC Telecom Infrastructure sells entire stake in Vi for Rs 18.4 billion
ATC Telecom Infrastructure has sold its entire 2.8 per cent stake in Vi through open market transactions. As many as 1,440 million shares were sold by ATC Telecom at Rs 12.78 a per share, valuing the deal at Rs 18.4 billion. Additionally, Citigroup Global bought shares worth Rs 6,110 million through bulk deals, while the rest of the buyers were unknown.
Airtel issues equity shares worth Rs 2.46 billion to FCCB holders
According to a regulatory filing, Bharti Airtel has allotted equity shares worth around Rs 2.46 billion, due for maturity in February 2025, to its foreign debt bond holders. As per the filing, following allotment of equity against the foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), the outstanding principal value of the FCCBs at the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has reduced to $204.69 million. The filing further noted that the paid-up equity share capital of the company increased to Rs 28,858,453,702.50 divided into 5,673,618,825 fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 5 each and 392,287,662 partly paid-up equity shares of Rs 5 each, with a paid-up value Rs 1.25 each.
Vi shareholders approve Rs 200 billion fundraising plan
Vi has received approval from its shareholders to raise Rs 200 billion through equity and equity-linked instruments. The results of the extraordinary general meeting were announced on April 3, 2024. With shareholders’ approval in place, the company expects to complete the equity fundraise in the coming quarter. The promoters of the company will also participate in this round. In addition, Vi is looking to engage with its lenders for tying up the debt funding that will follow the equity fundraise. Through a combination of equity and debt, it plans to raise around Rs 450 billion.
CCI approves Airtel’s acquisition of Warburg Pincus affiliate’s stake in Bharti Telemedia
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Airtel’s acquisition of an additional 20 per cent stake in its direct-to- home arm, Bharti Telemedia Limited (BTL), from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus. The transaction also included Lion Meadow Investment, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, acquiring a stake in Airtel. In its application to the CCI, Airtel stated that the transaction is an intra-group shareholding consolidation and does not constitute any change in market dynamics, the entry or exit of any player or a change in the management of the business operations of BTL. The stake acquisition, which will increase Bharti Airtel’s shareholding in Bharti Telemedia to 100 per cent from 80 per cent, values BTL at Rs 156.3 billion.
Globe Telecom sells off 181 additional towers raising $234 million (Philippines)
Globe Telecom has sold more towers raising PHP 13.5 billion ($234 million) to support future capital expenditure (capex) plans and pay down debts. In a stock exchange filing, the company noted that it sold 181 towers to the Miescor Infrastructure Development Corporation (MIDC) in April 2024, and the cash will be used for capex plans. The money will also be used for debt payment and avoidance. This is a part of the operator’s deal to sell in stages 5,709 towers to MIDC and Frontier Tower Associates Philippines for a total of PHP 71 billion. By the completion of the overall deal, MIDC will pick up 2,180 towers for PHP 26 billion, and 3,529 will go to Frontier for PHP 45 billion. Furthermore, Globe has sold 3,743 towers so far.
stc Group and PIF ink deal to form region’s largest telecom tower company (Saudi Arabia)
The Saudi Telecommunications Company (stc Group) and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have announced the signing of definitive agreements whereby PIF will acquire a 51 per cent stake in TAWAL from the stc Group. According to the agreement, TAWAL’s enterprise value is $5.85 billion. Subsequently, PIF and the stc Group will merge TAWAL and the Golden Lattice Investment Company (GLIC), in which PIF holds a majority shareholding, into a new entity, forming the largest regional company. The combined new entity will be owned 54 per cent by PIF and 43.1 per cent by the stc Group, with GLIC minority shareholders owning the remaining issued share capital. The transactions are expected to be completed in the second half of 2024 after obtaining all the required regulatory approvals and satisfying other necessary conditions under the agreements.
Furthermore, according to stc, the new entity is expected to significantly enhance the consumer experience and network coverage, as well as improve connectivity and mobile internet speeds by consolidating Saudi Arabia’s tower assets. The new entity will possess approximately 30,000 mobile tower sites and annual revenues of approximately $1.3 billion.
