Vodafone Idea FPO gets 49 per cent subscription on Day 2

Vodafone Idea’s follow-on public offer (FPO) secured 49 per cent subscription on Day 2.

According to BSE data, 93 per cent of the quota for qualified institutional buyers have been subscribed, non-institutional investor category has been subscribed 75 per cent; but retail institutional investors portion is only at a 13 per cent.

Vodafone Idea hopes to raise ₹18,000 crore from this issue. Monday is the last date of the issue.

Total shares on offer is 1,260 crore, priced between ₹10 and ₹11. Investors such as Fidelity, UBS, and Jupiter Fund Management had acquired shares worth ₹5,400 crore as anchor investors ahead of the FPO. 

Vodafone Idea needs a 90 per cent subscription for the FPO to go through. 

The funds, if they come through, will pave the path of recovery for Voda Idea. The company plans to extend its 4G network in areas where its coverage is weak. The operator has been losing subscribers due to gaps in 4G network. In its red herring prospectus, Voda Idea stated that it aims to add 26,000 4G sites using these funds. Vi also has several network payments coming up, which it will not be able to meet without the FPO funds.

Shares were down by 2.27 per cent, closing at ₹12.9 apiece from the previous close of ₹13.2 on Thursday.