MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: A consortium led by US-based Oaktree Capital, including a few other private equity firms such as Varde Partners, has proposed investing up to $2.5 billion into cash-strapped Vodafone Idea Ltd through hybrid debt papers, sources aware of the matter said. Mint had in September reported Amazon.com Inc. and Verizon Communications, the largest wireless carrier in the US, were to resume talks to buy a significant stake in Vodafone Idea for more than $4 billion. On 1 September, the top court gave telecom operators ten years to pay off their AGR dues including interest, penalty and interest on penalty. Vodafone Idea has paid ₹7,854 in AGR dues, but still owes more than ₹50,000 crore to the department of telecommunications. At 0235 pm, shares of Vodafone Idea were up 0.4% at ₹9.24, while the benchmark Sensex fell more than 1% to 43,654.78 points.

Source: Mint November 19, 2020 09:33 UTC