Idea jumps 8% on buzz of stake sale in merged firm to SoftBank

Shares of Idea Cellular rose over 8 percent intraday on Thursday following developments around its merger with Vodafone. A media report stated that Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank could be the new investor in the proposed merged entity. The Japanese fund is said to be in talks with Vodafone Plc to buy a minority stake, the report added. CNBC-TV18 on Wednesday had reported, quoting sources, that Idea and Vodafone together could sell around 15-20 percent stake in the combined entity and could end up having 51 percent stake in the firm. The merged firm may also invite offers from private equity funds for stake sale, which could aid in reducing debt and infuse cash for operations. Idea-Vodafone will look at ways to cut the debt of over Rs 1 lakh crore in the merged company.The stock has seen a phenomenal rise in the past one month, following the news of its merger with Vodafone gathering steam. Both the firms have roped in their former managing directors to work out the dynamics of the deal. A whopping 64 percent spike was seen in the stock in the past one month, while its three-day movement was seen up at nearly 10 percent. At 09:34 hrs Idea Cellular was quoting at Rs 120.40, up Rs 7.95, or 7.07 percent on the BSE. It touched an intraday high of Rs 122.00 and an intraday low of Rs 114.75.