Vodafone Idea said on Tuesday the Indian government will own 35.8% of the company after the third-largest telecom operator’s board approved conversion of dues and spectrum auction instalments into equity.
The operator, which is a joint venture between the British giant Vodafone Group and billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla’s conglomerate, owed the government dues of roughly $6.76 billion. Following the conversion into equity, Vodafone Group’s shareholding will be diluted to 28.5% while Aditya Birla Group’s will shrink to 17.8%. The Indian government will become the largest shareholder in the wireless telecom operator.
Shares of Vodafone Idea dropped 12.46% on the news and was trading at ₹13 apiece at 11 am local tim …
