Vodafone weighs stake transfer to boost India unit capital, Bloomberg News reports (updated)

Vodafone

08/05/2026 16:31

Adds Vodafone Group's response in paragraph 4, details from the report in paragraph 7, background throughout

May 8 (Reuters) - Vodafone Group VOD.L is considering transferring part of its 19% stake in Vodafone Idea VODA.NS to the Indian unit to hold in treasury, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, in a move to boost its capital after the Indian government cut a bill for outstanding spectrum fees.

The share transfer would replace a fresh cash infusion from the UK telecom group and support Vodafone Idea's efforts to raise debt, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Mumbai-listed company could later sell the shares to generate additional capital to pay government dues and invest in growth as it seeks to regain market share from rivals such as Reliance Jio Infocomm, the report said.

Vodafone Group declined to comment, while Vodafone Idea did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Late last month, Vodafone Idea, in which the Indian government holds a 49% stake, had said India slashed its long-pending dues to 640.46 billion rupees ($6.75 billion) from 876.95 billion rupees earlier.

The dues stem from a long legal dispute over the government's method of calculating the so-called adjusted gross revenue, which telecom operators had contested as this metric determines licence fees and other dues.

The loss-making carrier is also in talks with lenders to borrow about 350 billion rupees ($3.7 billion), with State Bank of India likely to lead a lending consortium, the Bloomberg report said, adding that most of the borrowing would be through term loans.

Shares of Vodafone Idea closed flat at 11.24 rupees in Mumbai on Friday.

 (Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

 ((Aatrayee.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com;))