BENGALURU: Vodafone Group will sell about 10% stake in India’s Indus Towers for as much as $1.1 billion on Wednesday, per a term sheet seen by Reuters, as a part of the British firm’s efforts to repay debt.
Last week, Reuters reported that Vodafone was mulling to sell its stake in mobile-tower operator Indus Towers, in which it owns a 21.5% stake via various group entities.
Vodafone plans to repay part of its $42.17 billion net debt using proceeds from the Indus Towers stake sale, sources had told Reuters last week. Vodafone will sell roughly 268 million shares in Indus Towers through stock market block deals in Mumbai at a price range of 310 rupees to 341 rupees per share, valuing the stake between $996 million to $1.1 billion, the term sheet showed on Tuesday.
The midpoint of the price range is at a 4.5% discount to Indus’s stock closing price on Tuesday, but roughly in-line with its close on Friday after Reuters reported on the sale. Indian markets were closed on Monday.
Vodafone has hired Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies and BNP Paribas to manage the stake sale in Indian stock markets, the term sheet showed.
Vodafone and Indus Towers did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Block deals, where investors sell shares in stock markets, have become increasingly popular in India as the market has surged to record highs.