Vodafone Idea approaches pension funds for $1 billion funding

Vodafone Idea (Vi) is looking to raise around $1 billion from pension funds to keep its India business on track, sources told The Economic Times.

Among those approached for funding include three Canadian pension funds Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), and Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, one source said.

“The thought process for now is that this would not be a direct equity deal, but debt which is convertible into equity,” the source added.

Earlier, it was reported that the telecom company had shelved its plans to put $333 million through the sale of hybrid securities to foreign funds and was instead considering borrowing capital using promoter guarantees to refinance its debt.

Vodafone has been floundering in India. The telco lost 5.7 million customers in December, as the country’s total telecom subscriber base dropped to 1,173 million from 1,175 million in the previous month, as per a report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI).

The drop in Vodafone’s customer base in December is the highest since March 2020 and its market share shrunk to 24.64 percent in December.

Source: Money Control