Vodafone Idea Rs 25,000-Crore Rights Issue Opens, Shares Rise

Vodafone Idea shares rose about 1.5 per cent on Wednesday, after the opening of a rights issue by the private sector telecom company. Vodafone Idea's board had last month approved the rights issue to raise up to Rs 25,000 crore. The Vodafone Idea rights issue comprises 2,000 crore shares at an issue price of Rs 12.50 per share. As part of the Vodafone Idea rights issue, eligible shareholders will be entitled to 87 equity shares for every 38 equity shares held, according to the company. (Also read: Vodafone Idea posts Rs 5,005 crore loss for December quarter)

Here are other key things to know about the Vodafone Idea rights issue, which opened on April 10:

The Vodafone Idea rights issue, which opened on Wednesday, will close on April 24. The last date for eligible shareholders to request a split application form is April 17, the company said in its statement post-market hours on Tuesday.

Promoter shareholders Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group confirmed their participation of up to Rs 11,000 crore and up to Rs 7,250 crore respectively, the telecom company said.

Vodafone Idea said its top priority is to integrate quickly to improve customer experience and profitability.

"We believe that the proceeds from the rights issue coupled with the monetisation of our stake in Indus Towers Limited will allow us to make the required investments in the business to achieve our strategic goals," said Balesh Sharma, CEO, Vodafone Idea.

He also said that expanding coverage will enable the company to offer a superior network experience to its customers, add broadband customers and improve profitability.

At 10:29 am, Vodafone Idea shares traded 1.18 per cent higher at Rs 17.10 apiece on the BSE, outperforming the broader markets which was down 0.05 per cent.

Vodafone Idea and Idea Cellular completed their merger last year to create Vodafone Idea.