Vodafone Idea on Thursday evening clarified that there were no investment offers from e-commerce giant Amazon or Verizon, America’s largest wireless carrier.

“Currently, there is no proposal as reported by the media that is being considered at the Board,” the company in a BSE filing.

Advertisement

The statement was released after a section of the media published reports saying that the two giants, in their respective fields, were in talks to invest huge sum (more than $4 billion) in the company. As a result, the share price of the carrier witnessed a sharp jump on Thursday following the reports.

Meanwhile, Amazon and Verizon did not respond to the reports.

Vodafone Idea, however, said “As part of corporate strategy, the Company constantly evaluates various opportunities for enhancing the stakeholders’ value. As and when such proposals are considered by the Board of Directors of the Company warranting disclosures, the Company shall comply with the disclosure obligations under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (“SEBI Listing Regulation”).“

Earlier this week, Vodafone Idea received a lifeline from the Supreme Court after it delivered its verdict on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case.

On Tuesday, the apex court gave a 10-year timeline to the telcos to repay their dues, with an upfront payment of 10 per cent by March 31, 2021.

Reports suggest that Vodafone Idea has AGR dues of over Rs 58,000 crore, of which the company has paid Rs 7,854 crore to the Department of Telecom so far.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Vodafone Idea board is scheduled to hold a crucial meeting on Friday to consider fund-raising through various means.

In a filing earlier this week, the company had said that the board at its meeting will “consider and evaluate any and all proposals for raising of funds in one or more tranches by way of a public issue, preferential allotment, private placement, including a qualified institutions placement or through any other permissible mode and/or combination thereof…by way of issue of equity shares or by way of issue of any instruments.”

The board will also consider raising funds through securities including securities convertible into equity shares, global depository receipts, American depository receipts or bonds including foreign currency convertible bonds, convertible debentures, warrants, and/or non-convertible debentures including non-convertible debentures along with warrants, which may or may not be listed, it said.

The company reported a consolidated net loss worth Rs 25,460 crore for the April-June quarter, against Rs 4,573.9 crore for the corresponding quarter a year ago. The exceptional items, which added to the loss, include integration and merger-related cost, provisions, licence fees and SUC on AGR and one-time spectrum charges, including interest.