Google mulls Vodafone Idea stake acquisition - report

Google plans to invest in Indian operator Vodafone India. The US giant seeks to acquire a 5 percent stake in Vodafone Idea, Financial Times reports, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. No financial details related to the planned transaction have been disclosed. 

Vodafone Idea gets USD 200 mln cash injection from Vodafone Group

Earlier in April, Vodafone Group gave its Indian joint venture Vodafone Idea a cash injection of USD 200 million to help the company get through the coronavirus crisis. The group said this brings forward a payment it would have had to provide under the shareholders agreement in September. Vodafone accelerated the payment to provide Vodafone Idea with liquidity to manage its operations and to support its around 300 million customers and thousands of employees during the health emergency.

Vodafone Idea has seen its cash resources come under pressure since the Indian Supreme Court ruling last October on the definition of adjusted gross revenues. This resulted in a sharp increase in outstanding regulatory fees for the Indian operators, and Vodafone Idea has been making payments to the government to meet its AGR liabilities. 

Google also in talks to buy a stake in Reliance Jio 

March press reports claimed Google was also in talks with Reliance Jio for the acquisition of a stake in the Indian mobile operator. Discussions came up after Microsoft announced in 2019 plans to partner with Jio to provide cloud computing services to business customers. Reliance Jio’s mobile internet service attracted nearly 370 million Indian customers in just three years. Analysts at Bernstein valued Jio at more than USD 60 billion.