NEW DELHI : Bharti Airtel is understood to have approached govt for swapping its statutory dues with equity, something that was done in the case of beleaguered Vodafone Idea. The company is estimated to have outstanding government payment dues of over Rs 70,000 crore, including Rs 40,000 crore of AGR dues.
Sources said that Airtel believes the measure will help it conserve cash while also enabling govt to be part of a fast-growing enterprise, which carries prospects of growth in share price and resultant valuations. “A proposal to this effect is understood to have been sub mitted to the department of telecom,” a source said. Airtel has not officially commented on the matter yet.
The formula to swap the outstanding statutory payment dues with equity was initiated by the department of telecom to help the industry, particularly loss-making Vodafone Idea, tide over the financial challenges and continue as a going concern.
Airtel’s current market cap is around Rs 10.5 lakh crore, as per the details on the Bombay Stock Ex change. The company will need to transfer around 6% equity to govt to clear its statutory dues. Shares of Airtel closed the day at Rs 1,845 on the BSE, down 2%.
Market analysts believe that govt has “a chance of realising positive returns” from the Airtel equity, considering that the company has been growing in profitability. This will be unlike Vodafone Idea, where the value of its stake has so far only fetched negative returns, with the company’s scrip remaining below Rs 10 for most of the period of govt’s holding.
Govt converted the Voda Idea statutory debt into equity at a price of Rs 10 per share. The current price is Rs 8.
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