Vodafone chief meets Aruna Sundararajan seeking spectrum payment relief
Nick Read, Vodafone Inc top officer is learnt to have met Aruna Sundararajan, Department of Telecom Secretary to seek relief in spectrum payments of its Indian arm Vodafone Idea.
Vodafone Idea, along with Bharti Airtel, has requested the government to defer spectrum payment installments with a two-year moratorium given the losses that these players are facing.
In the combined entity, Vodafone holds 45.1 stake, while Aditya Birla Group controls 26 per cent and Idea shareholders own 28.9 per cent. Vodafone Idea is required to pay installments of around Rs 10,000 crore for spectrum that it has acquired in the past five auctions.
Before the merger, Vodafone and Idea had participated in five auctions. In these five auctions, Vodafone alone had acquired spectrum worth Rs 79,343 crore, which is the highest in terms of value compared to bids made by any other operator. Idea too had purchased spectrum worth Rs 63,597 crore in those auctions.
Vodafone Idea is in the process of raising Rs 25,000 crore for investment in business. The British major has committed to contribute Rs 11,000 crore in the fund raising exercise while Aditya Birla Group will contribute Rs 7,250 crore.
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