Voda Idea denies reports Verizon, Amazon or Starlink want to acquire it

Cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea has denied that it is in talks to be acquired by US majors such Verizon, Amazon or Elon Musk-owned Starlink. An online report suggesting it was in talks saw its stock losing nearly 8% in intra-day trade.

A news report published on Sunday by an online portal said that the three US giants are in the race to acquire the loss-making telco by buying out part of the promoters' and government stake.

"This is in relation to (a) News Item titled "Vodafone Idea to be acquired by a US telecom giant Soon? Verizon, Amazon, or Starlink, in the race", which is doing rounds in electronic and social media. We wish to submit that the said news item is incorrect. The company is not in any such discussion with any of the named parties," the telco said in a filing to the stock exchanges before the markets opened.

After opening on Monday, the Vodafone Idea shares fell to an intraday low of '10.8 before rallying to recoup some losses ending down 6.8% at '10.9 on the BSE.

Vodafone Idea is promoted by UK's Vodafone Group and Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, both together hold 50.1% stake. The government is the company's largest shareholder with a 33.1% stake after it converted the telco's accrued interest towards adjusted gross revenue (AGR) arrears into equity in February 2023.

The media report had said that one of the three companies was likely to invest around $4 billion initially and the total cost of acquisition could be as much as $10 billion. It added that the Vodafone Group is expected to offload most of its shares, while the Aditya Birla Group is expected to sell a smaller amount while the government could divest its entire stake in the telco.

The report follows a surge in the telco's stock price in recent weeks. Between August 16, 2023 and September 15, 2023, the Vi stock jumped 50%, shortly after ET reported that the telco was close to tying up its much-delayed equity funding and it had term sheets from several potential investors.

The telco has been on the lookout for an investor or investors to infuse equity to help with its severe liquidity constraints. It is also trying for fresh loans from its lenders. But it has not succeeded so far.