On Wednesday, December 4, 2024, Indus Towers Ltd announced the release of a pledge on 3.003% of shares held by Vodafone Plc in the company. This development follows Vodafone Plc’s announcement of its effective exit from its shareholding in Indus Towers, with plans to use the proceeds from the private placement of these 79.2 million shares to repay $101 million in outstanding borrowings to existing lenders.

A portion of the funds will also be used by Vodafone Idea to settle its outstanding dues to Indus Towers.

Vodafone Group plans to utilise the proceeds from the private placement initially to repay its outstanding dues for its Indian assets. Indus Towers holds a security interest over any residual proceeds from the stake sale.

These residual proceeds will be used to purchase equity in a fresh issuance of shares by Vodafone Idea, which will then use the funds to clear its outstanding dues to Indus Towers. If any shares of Indus Towers remain after Vodafone Group’s dues are cleared, they will be available to Indus Towers to guarantee Vodafone Idea’s obligations under the Master Services Agreement.

Based on an agreement signed in September 2020, a security package could be invoked if Vodafone Idea fails to meet certain payment obligations under its Master Services Agreement. Following these terms and conditions, Indus Towers released the pledge on the remaining 3.003% shares held by Vodafone Group promoters.

In the September quarter, Indus Towers reported a consolidated net profit of ₹2,224 crore on a revenue of ₹7,465 crore. Shares of Indus Towers closed at ₹357.20 on the National Stock Exchange on Wednesday, up 0.9%. Vodafone Idea shares closed 2.6% higher at ₹8.42.