British telecom giant Vodafone Plc on Wednesday sold 484.7 million shares in tower management company Indus Towers, equivalent to 18 per cent of its stake, through a block deal, raising Rs 15,300 crore.
This was the biggest transaction in the domestic markets, with block deals worth a total of Rs 28,500 crore ($3.4 billion) seen on the same day.
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Other major deals include sale of 7.51 per cent stake (by WABCO Asia) in multinational company ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India (formerly WABCO India) for Rs 2,194 crore, and sale of 6 per cent equity stake by Fosun Pharma in Gland Pharma for Rs 1,754 crore.
Further, private equity major WestBridge sold 1.75 per cent stake in AU Small Finance Bank for Rs 845 crore.
This surge in share sales reflects a record year for India's domestic markets. India leads Asia in block trades and share placements this year, with transactions worth more than $20 billion (Rs 1.7 trillion), according to Bloomberg. The activity is driven by a surge in share prices and substantial inflows into domestic mutual funds.
After this deal, Vodafone PLC's stake in Indus Towers has come down from 21.5 percent to 3.1 percent. Bharti Airtel has also announced to buy 28.95 million shares, increasing its stake in Indus Towers to around 49 percent.
“Gross proceeds from this placement raise Rs 15,300 crore (€1.7 billion), which will repay Vodafone's existing lenders towards outstanding bank borrowings of €1.8 billion secured against Vodafone's Indian assets,” Vodafone Plc said in a note.
JPMorgan highlighted that Indus Towers has a secondary pledge on Vodafone PLC's original 21 per cent stake, and the balance amount of up to Rs 4,250 crore has been allocated directly or indirectly towards Indus Towers' obligations.
Under the security package agreed during the merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers, Vodafone Plc's 21 per cent stake will be the primary pledge to secure the $1.4 billion loan taken in 2019 to participate in Idea's rights issue.
Indus Towers Chief Financial Officer Vikas Poddar told analysts at JP Morgan that the company has been receiving 100 per cent receivables from Vodafone Idea (Vi) since January 2023, and collections have been over 100 per cent in the last two quarters of 2023-24. This has led to some reduction in provisions for doubtful debts.
“While Vodafone's equity raise can only be used for capital expenditure (capex), discussions are underway with Vi for payment of dues worth Rs 5,400 crore, and not for vendor payments,” JP Morgan said.
Shares of Indus Towers closed 3.6 per cent lower at Rs 334 during intraday trading, while those of Vi rose 0.3 per cent and were steady on Wednesday.
Expected Growth
Poddar indicated that higher capital expenditure would continue to put pressure on the company's free cash flow (FCF) in the coming year. However, improving receipts from Vi could potentially boost FCF and increase the possibility of dividends in 2024-25 (FY25).
Analysts suggest that equity infusion in Indus Towers to pay past dues could lead to a special dividend of Rs 15 per share in FY25, as the company's dividend payouts have been delayed for the past two years due to issues with capital expenditure and receipts from Idea.
Indus Towers expects continued growth driven by the ongoing 5G rollout by Airtel and increased tenancy by Vi.
JPMorgan highlighted, “Indus Towers expects growth in FY25 driven by Airtel's continued rollout of 4G services in rural areas, as well as new tenancies from Vi as it embarks on capex to bridge coverage gaps in rural/semi-urban locations.”
Revenue from 5G deployment is also expected to contribute to future growth.