State Bank of India (SBI) is anticipated to spearhead the proposed consortium of lenders. Senior banking officials recently convened to discuss extending new credit lines to the firm.
The entirety of the funds is intended for network expansion and capital expenditures, not for addressing adjusted gross revenue (AGR) liabilities. Vodafone Idea has assured its lenders that internal cash flows will adequately cover spectrum payment obligations over the upcoming years.
Sources suggest that the loan approval and sanction process may take approximately three months or longer. Currently, the cumulative exposure of banks to the company is around ₹4,000 crore.
These fundraising talks occur alongside the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) offering some alleviation on AGR dues, which has reduced Vodafone Idea’s outstanding obligations by 27% to ₹64,046 crore from ₹87,695 crore.
The stock surged by as much as 8% earlier in the session, reacting positively to the government’s relief measures.
According to the company’s previously disclosed repayment timeline, Vodafone Idea is scheduled to make annual payments of at least ₹124 crore from March 2025 through March 2031. This will be succeeded by annual payments of ₹100 crore from April 2031 to March 2035, with the remaining dues to be paid off in six yearly instalments of ₹10,608 crore each between March 2036 and March 2041.
The company has yet to provide an updated repayment schedule following the recent relief.
CNBC-TV18 has contacted Vodafone Idea for their comments.
