Indus Towers warns Vodafone Idea of losing access to its towers; stock under pressure

28 Sep 2022 , 10:57 AM

Vodafone Idea’s counter dipped nearly 2% to Rs8.96 on BSE in Wednesday’s early trade after the sources stated that Indus Towers has asked the company to clear its dues or run the risk of losing access to its towers from November onwards.

Vi’s mobile services to its over 255 million users might be severely impacted if Indus bans the cash-strapped telco’s access to towers.

According to two persons familiar with the situation, the tower business issued this warning to Vi in a sharply worded letter sent on Monday. This followed an earlier-in-the-day board meeting at Indus Towers, which examined the company’s increasing trade receivables and observed that it was mostly due to Vi’s payment delays.

Vi’s total debts to tower companies are likely to be in excess of Rs10,000 crore, with Indus owing well over Rs7,000 crore and American Tower Co owing the remainder (ATC).

The company has been attempting to raise Rs20,000 crore, divided between additional debt from lenders and equity, but has yet to execute a transaction.

In its letter, Indus is said to have urged Vi to clear all previous dues as soon as possible, pay 80% of its current monthly dues immediately, and clear 100% of monthly dues on time going ahead, or access to the tower network will be denied.

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