Kumar Mangalam Birla buys 186 crore shares in Vi after raising capital

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Indian telecom giant Aditya Birla Group (ABG), has increased his shareholding in telecom venture Vodafone Idea (Vi), underscoring his confidence in the struggling telco which is seeking to raise Rs 25,000 crore debt to supplement a Rs 24,000 crore equity raise.

According to data available with the National Stock Exchange, on September 6, Mr. Birla bought 186 million shares in Vi. Mr. Birla’s investment vehicle, Pilani Investment and Industries Corporation, also bought 300,000 shares in the operator on the same day.

Vi’s shares opened at Rs 14.74 per share on September 6 and closed at Rs 13.35. However, the purchase price for the said transaction is not known.

However, at the closing price on September 6, the acquisition price would be Rs 248 crore for Birla and Rs 40 crore for Pilani Investments and Industries.

Vodafone Idea shares closed at Rs 13.58 on Tuesday, up 2.88 per cent.

ET reported on Tuesday that Vi has in recent weeks approached state-run lenders Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC Ltd for loans to meet its medium-term capital needs. The company is also in talks with State Bank of India to raise part of its capital needs, which could see the consortium of lenders foot the bulk of the funding.