Birla tells govt he is willing to give up promoter stake in Vodafone Idea

Industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla has expressed willingness to offer his group’s 27 per cent stake in Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) to any government or domestic financial entity in order to keep the stressed telecom company alive.

The Aditya Birla Group chairman and promoter of VIL made the suggestion in a letter to Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on June 7. The VIL debt has more than trebled in the last four years to Rs 1.6 trillion as of end of March 2021, from around Rs 37,000 crore in FY16. This includes deferred spectrum obligations and adjusted gross revenue (AGR) liabilities.

Birla made the suggestion to give up his control of the company more than a month before the Supreme Court dismissed the company’s application for recalculation of the AGR dues, highlighting the need for urgent measures from the government.