Vodafone Idea sinks to 15-month low to funding woes

Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd dipped to a 15-month low on January 9 as reports said that the beleaguered telecom service provider had not been unable to secure funding from the government, banks or its promoters.

The stock hit a low of Rs 7.35 a share, a level last seen on September 7, 2021. At 12.06pm, the stock was trading at Rs 7.40 on the BSE, down 5.1 percent from its previous close. The stock has declined 23.32 percent in FY23 so far.

Recently, the firm sought at least Rs 7,000 crore emergency fund from local banks, according to a newspaper report.   The State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank and IDFC First Bank are among the banks that the telco approached. However, lenders could wait for either capital increase by its promoters —UK's Vodafone Plc and India's Aditya Birla Group, or debt equity conversion by the government.

"If a fresh capital infusion from Vi's promoters does not come by January-February, it will become difficult for the telco to survive", the ET report added. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.