The merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular completed on August 31, 2018, creating India's biggest telecom service provider with over 408 million subscribers.

With this, Aditya Birla Group led Idea Cellular was renamed as the Vodafone Idea Limited. Both Vodafone and Idea brands will continue to operate.

New Board of Directors

The New Board of Directors comprises 12 Directors including six Independent Directors. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman.The Board appointed Balesh Sharma as the CEO of the Vodafone Idea Limited.

Vodafone Idea Limited: India's Leading Telecom Service Provider

• The new company holds pan India Revenue Market Share (AGR) of 32.2 percent and number one position in 9 circles.

• Subscriber base of over 408 million as on June 2018

• Encompasses over 340,000 broadband sites, covering 840 million Indians

• Over 200000 enterprise customers

• Covers largest voice network with over 200000 unique GSM sites to cover over 1.2 billion Indians (92 percent population coverage)

• Large spectrum portfolio of 1850 MHz

• Contains adequate number of broadband carriers to provide superior consumer experience across 2G, 3G and 4G platforms

• Widest distribution reach with over 1.7 million retailers and approximately 15000 branded stores to service customers

Financial highlights

• The equity infusion of Rs.67.5 billion at Idea and Rs.86 billion at Vodafone along with monetisation of towers of both companies for an enterprise value of Rs.78.5 billion, provides the company a strong cash balance of over Rs 193 billion, after payout of Rs 39 billion to Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

• Merger is expected to generate around Rs140 billion annual synergy. “Synergy is the concept that the value and performance of two companies combined will be greater than the sum of the separate individual parts. Synergy term is most commonly used in the context of mergers and acquisitions.”

• Additionally, the company has an option to monetise an 11.15 percent stake in Indus Towers, India’s largest telecom tower company, which would equate to a cash consideration of Rs.51 billion.

Significance

Vodafone Idea will boost ‘Digital India Initiative’ of PM Narendra Modi. It will accelerate India’s progression towards a digital economy with a portfolio of quality products and services under both the brands Vodafone and Idea.

The services such as Voice, Data, Mobile payments, IoT, advanced enterprise offerings and entertainment will be conveniently accessible through digital channels, on-ground 15000 branded stores, and 1.7 million retail touchpoints.

About Vodafone Group

• Vodafone Group is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications.

• It has mobile operations in 25 countries, partners with mobile networks in 46 countries, and has fixed broadband operations in 18 markets.

• As of June 2018, Vodafone Group had 534.5 million mobile customers and 19.9 million fixed broadband customers, including India and all of the customers in Vodafone’s joint ventures and associates.

About Idea Cellular Limited

Idea Cellular Limited is now renamed as Vodafone Idea Limited, an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership. It is India’s leading telecom service provider with over 408 million customers and revenue market share of 32.2 per cent (Q1FY19).

Idea Cellular Limited continues to remain listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).