Indian mobile operator sets the price range for its IPO, to begin on Feb. 12

February 2, 2007

1 Min Read
India's IDEA Sets IPO Date

Indian regional mobile operator Idea Cellular Ltd. has set Feb. 12 as the date for its IPO.

The company today began its roadshow for the public offering, which it's priced at between 65 Rupees (US$1.47) and Rs75 ($1.70) per share and expects to raise around $500 million. The shares will be listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in India.

IDEA has already raised Rs3.75 billion ($85 million) in a pre-IPO placement to existing shareholders, directors, and other individuals at the high end of the price range.

It plans to set aside Rs500 million ($11.33 million) in shares for employees, and has also laid out an over-allotment option of around Rs3.19 billion ($72.3 million). The book-building process will close on February 15.

IDEA -- India’s fifth largest carrier -- will use the proceeds of the IPO to finance its ongoing network expansion and repay money that parent company Aditya Birla Group has borrowed to fund the buildout so far. (See IDEA Cellular Files for $560M IPO.)

According to its third-quarter results filed earlier this week, Birla has invested Rs13.73 billion ($311.2 million) in IDEA so far in this financial year. (See Aditya Birla Reports Q3.) The carrier's subscriber base increased from 10.36 million to 12.4 million during the quarter, while revenues rose by 49.9 percent to Rs11.48 billion ($260.2 million).

— Nicole Willing, Reporter, Light Reading

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