Idea share price: Shares of Idea Cellular zoomed nearly 18% on Tuesday as the Idea-Vodafone merger deal inched closer to getting the final nod from the Telecom department. Shares of Idea soared by 17.75% to a high of Rs 62 on the BSE after official sources confirmed that both Idea Cellular and Vodafone have paid Rs 7,268-crore dues towards spectrum charges. With the payment of charges, the $23-billion merger of Idea Cellular and Vodafone India is expected to get the final approval of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) soon.
Idea shares rose by 16.55% to an intra-day high of Rs 61.25 on the National Stock Exchange. “Vodafone and Idea have paid the dues under their heads, which is being processed now at the DoT,” The Financial Express reported quoting official sources. Idea’s dues worth Rs 3,322 crore is related to the one-time spectrum charge (OTSC) for spectrum held beyond 4.4 Mhz, while Vodafone’s due of Rs 3,926 crore pertains to the entry fee and the auction determined price of the start-up spectrum of 4.4 Mhz.
Also read: Share Market Live! Sensex down 150 points from all-time high as RIL, Kotak Bank bleed
The report quoted sources earlier saying that the companies have decided to first pay and then challenge, rather than first contest the payment in the court, so that the merger would not be delayed. The DoT had granted a conditional approval to the long-pending merger earlier this month, asking for the requisite payment. The merged entity will be the country’s largest telecom operator with total revenue at over Rs 80,000 crore and 437 million customers.
The new entity will have a 35% subscriber market share and 39% revenue market share. The combined debt of the Vodafone-Idea will stand at Rs 1.07 lakh crore. Idea and Vodafone would remove overlapping sites once the merger is completed. This would result in annual savings of around Rs 2,000 crore. The merged entity will hold 1850 MHz of spectrum.