India’s Largest Telecom Company Is Born: Vodafone-Idea Will Beat Airtel, Jio!

The merger of Vodafone and Idea is now officially complete. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has finally given its green signal to the new entity: Vodafone Idea Limited, and this way, India’s largest telecom company has been created.

On day 1 of their operations, they will officially beat both Airtel and Reliance Jio!

Balesh Sharma is their new CEO, as approved by both Vodafone and Idea.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Idea Limited, said, “Today, we have created India’s leading telecom operator. It is truly a historic moment.”

Here are some interesting facts about the merger, which is now official:

• In terms of subscribers Vodafone-Idea Limited is right now India’s #1 telecom company.
• Vodafone-Idea will have a combined subscriber count of 408 million, and revenue share of 32.2%, pan-India.
• In 9 circles, Vodafone-Idea will be #1 player as per revenue generation.
• In total, the new entity will command 840,000 broadband sites, covering 840 million Indians, and providing them with 4G and 3G coverage.
• Vodafone-Idea has become India’s largest voice network, as their 200,000 unique GSM sites will cover roughly 92% of the Indians (1.2 billion people)
• And in data too, they are #1. Vodafone-Idea now has the large spectrum portfolio of ~1850 MHz providing 2G, 3G and 4G coverage. They have ~235,000 kms of Fibre spread across India.
• In terms of market penetration for dealers and retailers, Vodafone-Idea is #1 right now. They have 1.7 million retailers and ~15,000 branded stores across India, highest among all telecom players.
• If we talk about financial numbers, then the impact it will create is mindboggling. Vodafone-India now has a combined annual synergy of Rs. 140 billion, which includes opex synergies of Rs. 84 billion, equivalent to a net present value of approximately Rs. 700 billion
• Rs 78.85 billion is the combined enterprise value of this new entity, with a strong cash balance of Rs. 193 billion.
• Total debt of this combined entity is INR 1092 billion.

Having said that, loss of jobs and their debt remains a concern. As of June, 2018, Vodafone-Idea had a combined debt of Rs 1092 billion, and as we reported earlier, approximately 5000 employees will be out of job due to this merger.

Now, all eyes are set on Airtel and Jio, because now, they will have to deal with India’s largest telecom company.

We will keep you updated, as receive more information.

Related:

Vodafone-Idea Merger: 4 Major After-Effects You May Witness!