Posted on Jan 12, 2022 4:27 PMUpdated Jan 12, 2022, 4:53 PM
The measure is unprecedented. To save the country’s third largest telecom operator, the Indian government has just… become its largest shareholder. Vi (ex Vodafone-Idea) was in an inextricable financial situation, threatening to shut him down. To avoid this tragic outcome, the Modi government has therefore agreed to go once morest its general policy of privatization (notably symbolized by the recent sale of its shares in the airline Air India).
Under the terms of the agreement announced on Tuesday, the state will hold 36% of the capital, becoming the operator’s largest shareholder – ahead of its two historic co-shareholders, the British Vodafone (whose stake increases from 44% to 28%) and the Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla (which goes from 28% to 18%).