Vodafone Idea FPO: On the second day of bidding, Vodafone Idea’s follow-on public offer (FPO) witnessed a 49 percent subscription rate, with investors acquiring 617.4 crore equity shares, according to exchange data.

As part of its broader strategy to raise Rs 45,000 crore through debt and equity, the telecom giant is offering 1,260 crore shares in the Rs 18,000-crore FPO, marking the largest such offering in the country.

Qualified institutional investors led the subscription, securing 0.93 times their allotted shares, while non-institutional investors acquired 0.75 times their reserved portion.

Retail investors subscribed to only 0.13 times of the shares allocated for them, purchasing 79.28 crore shares out of the designated 630 crore shares.

The first day of bidding saw a 26 percent subscription rate for the Vodafone Idea FPO, which has a price band set at Rs 10-11 per share and closes on April 22.

On April 16, the debt-ridden company successfully raised Rs 5,400 crore from institutional investors through the anchor book at the upper price band. Notable names such as Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and others participated as anchor investors. Additionally, insurance players like SBI General Insurance Company and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company also showed interest in the telecom operator.

Of the net issue proceeds, Vodafone Idea plans to allocate Rs 12,750 crore towards expanding its network infrastructure, including setting up new 4G and 5G sites and enhancing the capacity of existing 4G sites. Another portion, amounting to Rs 2,175.3 crore, will be utilized for clearing some deferred payments for spectrum to the Department of Telecommunications and the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The remaining funds will be directed towards general corporate purposes.

Despite these developments, the stock experienced a 2.3 percent decline, closing at Rs 12.90 on April 19.