Vodafone Idea Ltd, the merged entity of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular has announced a new brand identity, Vi (pronounced as We). The announcement came after the company got relief by Supreme Court order to pay AGR dues in next 10 years.
Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read said, "As the integration of two businesses is now complete, it’s time for a fresh start. That's why we believe that now is the perfect time to launch Vi, one company which provides the strength of Vodafone India and Idea.” It should be noted that merger was done in 2018, midst of market consolidation due to predator pricing by Reliance Jio.
There was some recent market rumor that US tele major Verizon or e-Commerce giant Amazon may look for stake buy in VIL, but the company denied such reports. However the company has approved Rs 25,000 cr fundraising plan. Analysts believe it's not a plan for a long run, may be just for 12-18 months, as the company is debt ridden of nearly Rs 1.7 lakh crore.
VIL will get some Rs 4000 - 8000 cr for selling out its stake in Indus Towers, as Indus will be merge into Bharti Infratel. VIL has to plan to sell its infra arm, along with data centers, but nothing concrete we know. VIL must look for a huge financial back up via stake sell like Reliance Jio did.
Without investing in expanding network, categorically speaking without 4G network expansion and getting ready for 5G, Vi will not be the choice of the market. Tariff hike is important for Vi, but it will also cost customers to leave. Let's see what they can do!
MyVi website: http://www.myvi.in/
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