Jefferies has ‘good news’ for Vodafone-Idea, Airtel

NEW DELHI: Indian telecom “market repair” is still some time away as the top players are in consolidation phase and seeking to raise over Rs 1 lakh crore in funds, global investment banker Jefferies said in a note. The first half of 2019-20 fiscal year will see equity fund-raising of over Rs 1 lakh crore led by separate rights by Vodafone-Idea and Bharti Airtel of Rs 25,000 crore each, and Reliance Jio’s demerged Fiber and Tower InVITs which will need equity funding for the majority of the Rs 1.1 lakh crore liability, it said.
“The funding reduces leverage for Bharti and Reliance but is inadequate for VodaIdea, in our view,” it said. “With Jio focus remaining on subscriber addition, the market repair is still 12 months away.”