Vodafone may sell 5% stake for 3,300 crore

Vodafone is in discussion to sell a 5% stake in Indus Towers to Bharti Airtel at a valuation of Rs 3,300 crore. The proceeds will be pumped into the Indian entity Vodafone idea.  Vodafone has yet not confirmed the stake sale to Airtel, but it has confirmed that it is in talks to sell an initial 4.7% stake and is looking to eventually sell its entire 28.1% stake in Indus towers. Vodafone has also launched an initial sale of 63.9 million Indus shares saying that it was in talks with various parties related to the sale of its remaining shares. The decision comes after a challenging period for Vodafone in India,  where the company is facing tough competition and has lost millions of wireless subscribers to its competitors. The company is also discussing selling its remaining share in Indus to several interested parties, expected to own a 35.8% stake in the venture with its recent deal. Indus Towers is one of the largest tower infrastructure providers in the country with more than 184,748 telecom towers and a presence in 22 telecom circles.