Vodafone Idea to take 4-year reprieve on Rs 8,837-crore AGR dues

Vodafone Idea (Vi) will take a four-year moratorium on paying Rs 8,837 crore as AGR dues, in addition to the option it exercised last year. The telecom company also has the option to convert interest on the deferred amount into additional equity to the government.

The government will own 33 per cent stake in Vi after an earlier decision to convert interest with net present value of interest worth Rs 16,000 crore into equity. It may get a further 6-7 per cent stake if the company opts for conversion again, said a telecom sector analyst. Vi did not comment on what it plans.

Vi, in a late evening stock exchange notification on Wednesday, said that on June 15 it got a government letter offering four-year moratorium for all AGR dues up to financial year 2018-19.