Vodafone Sells Indus Towers Stake, Raises $1.8 Billion

Vodafone Subsidiaries Earn $1.8 Billion in Indus Towers Share Sale

Vodafone Group Plc's subsidiaries generated approximately $1.8 billion by selling a substantial number of shares in India’s Indus Towers Ltd. The transaction, which involved selling 484.7 million shares at a price of 311.4 rupees each, totaled an 18% stake in Indus Towers.

The sale underscores a key move by Chief Executive Officer Margherita Della Valle, who has been divesting underperforming segments and streamlining the company's extensive operations since taking over last year. Following this strategic move, Vodafone's shares saw a minor rise of 0.8%, trading at 71.20 pence in London as of 8:29 a.m.

Initially, Vodafone increased its share offer by about 80% before the sale, ultimately placing the shares near the lower end of the set price range of 310 rupees to 341 rupees. This significant boost in the offer indicates strong demand for Indian assets and sufficient liquidity for large transactions, according to Sunil Shah, group CEO at Mumbai-based Khambatta Securities Ltd. He added that successful large block trades on Indian exchanges facilitate easier exit opportunities for investors.

This Indus Towers trade was the largest in a series of block transactions that occurred between Tuesday and Wednesday as investors sought to capitalize on India's thriving equity market. Notably, wireless carrier Bharti Airtel, which has a 48% stake in Indus Towers, acquired an additional 1% stake through these block trades.

Indus Towers' shares experienced a drop of up to 9.6% following the block deals but later recovered, reducing the decline to 4.2% in Mumbai on Wednesday. Despite this volatile activity, the shares have surged by more than 65% this year, marking them as top performers in BSE Ltd.'s telecom stock index.

The block sale was orchestrated by major financial institutions including Bank of America Corp., BNP Paribas SA, Jefferies Financial Group Inc., and Morgan Stanley.