Shares of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) were locked in a five per cent upper circuit at Rs 276.50 after its board decided to convert interest on its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) debt into equity and post conversion, the government's holding in the company is expected to be around 9.5 per cent. The announcement of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) came within hours of Vodafone Idea also deciding to opt for converting the interest amount on AGR dues into government equity.
The average price of the company's shares at the relevant date of August 14, 2021 as per the calculation method provided in the DoT communication works out to be about Rs 41.50 per share, subject to final confirmation by the DoT, as per the filing.
"... pursuant to the Empowered Committee of the Board of Directors, at its meeting held on January 11, 2022, the company is expressing its desire for the conversion of the full amount of such interest related to AGR dues into equity subject to mutual agreement on the terms and conditions," the company said in a regulatory filing.
"Following conversion, it is expected that the government will hold approximately 9.5 per cent of the total outstanding shares of the company," it said.
Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) too has decided to opt for converting about Rs 16,000 crore interest dues liability payable to the government into equity which will amount to around 35.8 per cent stake in the company.
If the plan goes through, the government will become the biggest shareholder in the company which is reeling under a debt burden of about Rs 1.95 lakh crore.
Last week, telecom operator Bharti Airtel made it clear that it will not avail the option of conversion of the interest on deferred spectrum and AGR dues to equity offered under the reforms package.
As of 10:05 am, Tata Teleservices had pending sell orders for 60,79,303 shares while no buyers were seen on the BSE.
(With inputs from PTI)
