Vodafone said that part of the proceeds enabled the telco to increase its ownership in Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea
U.K-based Vodafone Group has finalized the sale of its remaining stake in Indian tower operator Indus Towers. In a regulatory filing, the company confirmed the sale of its remaining 3% holding, generating proceeds of INR 28billion ($330 million).
The company reported that $105 million from the sale proceeds has been used to fully repay outstanding debts to existing lenders. The remaining $225 million was allocated to increase Vodafone’s ownership in Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea. With this investment, Vodafone’s stake in Vodafone Idea has increased from 22.56% to 24.39%
Last month, Vodafone announced plans to divest its remaining 79.2 million shares in Indus Towers through an accelerated book-building process. Earlier in 2024, the telco sold an 18% stake in Indus Towers for a total of $1.78 billion.
Indus Towers manages approximately 220,000 telecom towers across India and counts Bharti Airtel as a major shareholder, with a 49% stake.
Founded in 2007 by Bharti Infratel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular, Indus Towers emerged from a partnership between these entities, with the latter two merging later.
In February, private equity firm KKR and Canadian fund CPPIB had decided divested their stakes in Indus Towers.
Vodafone Idea, which is a joint venture between the U.K.’s Vodafone Group and India’s Aditya Birla Group, recently announced plans to initiate a phased rollout of 5G services in 2025. It also recently initiated trials for its 5G services in India, according to local press reports.
The 5G trials are limited to 17 telecom circles and are not yet commercially available. This development follows a two-year delay since the telco participated in the 2021 spectrum auctions, where rival operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm launched their 5G services soon after.
The cities included in the trial are Jaipur (Rajasthan), Karnal (Haryana), Kolkata (West Bengal), Thrikkakara, Kakkanad (Kerala), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh East), Agra (Uttar Pradesh West), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Siliguri (West Bengal), Patna (Bihar), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Jalandhar (Punjab), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Pune (Maharashtra) and Delhi.
These 5G trials are accessible to both prepaid and postpaid customers and are operating on the 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz spectrum bands.
As part of its revival plan, Vodafone Idea raised fresh funds to improve 4G coverage and roll out 5G to prevent further subscriber losses. Rival operators Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel already offer 5G services nationwide and operate an extensive 4G network.
The Indian carrier will continue focusing on the 17 licensed areas or telecom circles for both 4G and 5G coverage, including roaming customers, the reports added.
