Marten Pieters, the CEO of Vodafone India, reportedly told its staff a few days ago that the company is gearing up for an IPO after receiving approval from its parent company Vodafone. In a statement sent to TelecomFinance on 13 December, Vodafone…
Marten Pieters, the CEO of Vodafone India, reportedly told its staff a few days ago that the company is gearing up for an IPO after receiving approval from its parent company Vodafone.
In a statement sent to TelecomFinance on 13 December, Vodafone India confirmed that an “IPO is one of the options that Vodafone India would be considering. However there is no concrete plan at this point of time. It’s too premature to get into discussions related to timing, pricing and other issues.”
Vodafone India, previously known as Vodafone Essar, has been mulling over a listing for a few months now.
In early July, Vodafone agreed to pay US$5.46bn to buy out the 33% stake of conglomerate Essar Group in their mobile operator JV Vodafone Essar.
But because a foreign company is not allowed more than a 74% direct stake in an Indian telco under FDI rules, Vodafone India signed a deal with India’s Piramal Healthcare for a stake in the company.
Shortly after, a Vodafone statement noted that exit routes for Piramal included a participation in a potential IPO of Vodafone India.
But Pieters was quoted saying that an IPO would not happen until the Indian market is ready, which may take a few months.
Vodafone has faced several hurdles in India since entering the market in 2007. It has been embroiled in a US$2.5bn tax case, and recently saw its Indian offices being raided as part of an investigation into the country’s 2G scam.
A listing could therefore allow Vodafone India to raise much needed financing as competition in the country’s telecom market is fierce.
