Vodafone Idea shelves debt fundraising; plans for QIP: Report

NEW DELHI: Ailing Vodafone Idea (’Vi’), which was planning to raise a credit line of up to $2 billion, may now opt for a pure equity round for fundraising, Hindustan Times reported.

The telco is considering a change in strategy now because investor sentiment has significantly improved along with the company’s prospects, the report said. “The company now plans to raise capital via a fresh equity issuance through a qualified institutional placement (QIP),” a person was quoted as saying.

The fundraising, according to the publication, will be done in two tranches and a large marquee investor is also likely to be brought in to provide stimulus to the stock. Only when the stock gets a fillip, the second tranche would be launched so that the sale does not result in too much dilution of promoters’ stake, the first person said.