Shares of Vodafone Idea surged 10%, bringing its share price to ₹7.40 from a previous closing of ₹6.61. The telecom company recorded high-volume sales of 83 crore in today’s session.

The rally comes as news reports suggest that the central government is planning to bring in a strategic investor who can invest at least $1 billion (over ₹8,800 crore) in the telecom company. In the process, the government, which holds a 49% stake, could offload a 12–13% stake in the company.

The shares have surged 10% in the last five sessions, and 4% in the past one month, though year-to-date data shows a 10% decline, a 53% decrease year-on-year. 

Vodafone Idea has been in troubled waters as it owes nearly ₹83,400 crore in debt as adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, with annual payments of around ₹18,000 crore scheduled from March 2025. As per the company’s earnings call, the outstanding as of the end of June is about ₹1.19 lakh crore for deferred payment towards spectrum, and about ₹76,000 crores for the AGR, totalling up to about ₹1.95 lakh crores.

As per Vi’s first quarter results for the financial year, revenue was ₹11,020 crore, a year-on-year growth of 4.9%. On a reported basis, the first quarter Ebitda was ₹4,610 crore. Cash Ebitda excluding Ind AS 116 lease impact stands at ₹2,180 crore, growing by 3.7% year-on-year. Capex for the quarter stood at ₹2,440 crore. As of June 30, 2025, the debt from banks was ₹1,930 crore, and the cash and bank balance stood at ₹6,830 crore. 

 Vodafone Idea, in the earnings call, said that it is looking at nonbanking sources of funding. “Banking things are progressing, but they may take a little while, and we are trying to look at other sources of funding, which will be available in a shorter timeframe,” said Akshay Moondra, who recently stepped down as CEO of Vodafone India.