Indian operator Reliance Communications (RCom) has started issuing shares at Rs142.13 (US$2.36) each to qualified institutional buyers.
The company has not revealed how many shares it is selling but previous reports suggested it is looking to raise…
Indian operator Reliance Communications (RCom) has started issuing shares at Rs142.13 (US$2.36) each to qualified institutional buyers.
The company has not revealed how many shares it is selling but previous reports suggested it is looking to raise between US$300m and US$500m.
The offering price represents a 5% discount to the floor price, the company said in a notice. RCom’s shares closed at Rs151.35 (US$2.5) on Tuesday on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The operator also said it will issue 86.7 million share warrants at Rs5 each to its promoters to raise around US$217m.
Proceeds from the placement and allotment will be used to pare its debt load, which stood at Rs402bn (US$6.8bn) as of 31 March.
India’s fourth-largest wireless player, owned by billionaire Anil Ambani, has been looking to trim its liabilities in various ways in recent months, including selling assets and entering a US$1bn network sharing agreement with new entrant Reliance Jio.
Another Indian mobile operator, Idea Cellular, recently raised US$500m in a share sale to institutional buyers. The number three player is expected to use the money to buy frequencies in the country’s next spectrum auction.
