San Fransico: United States wireless carrier Verizon and Amazon may invest over $4 billion for a stake in Vodafone Idea Ltd, sending shares in the struggling telecom firm up 13 per cent.
Vodafone Idea’s stake-sale talks had paused pending the outcome of a court hearing in India, which created uncertainty and could have threatened Vodafone Idea’s survival, Mint reported, citing two unnamed people aware of the negotiations.
Meanwhile, Amazon and Verizon set to resume their discussions following a Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday which gave mobile carriers ten years to settle government dues.
Heavily indebted Vodafone Idea – a joint venture between Britain’s Vodafone Group Plc and India’s Idea Cellular – had previously said its ability to continue as a going concern rested on a positive outcome of the hearing.
It has paid the Indian government 78.5 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) in telecoms dues, according to regulatory filings, but still owes roughly 500 billion rupees ($6.8 billion) more.