NEW DELHI: Vodafone Group Plc’s India venture plunged by a record on prospects of having to pay the government $4 billion in back-fees as early as next week, highlighting concerns over the future of the beleaguered mobile carrier.
Local wireless operators including Vodafone Idea Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. suffered a blow Thursday, when the nation’s Supreme Court rejected their appeal against an October verdict, requiring them to pay as much as $13 billion for spectrum and license fees. The companies were counting on some relief, such as a reversal of the earlier order, reduced liabilities or even staggered payment.
Shares of Vodafone Idea tumbled as much as 39% on Friday in Mumbai, the biggest intraday loss on record.The court’s rebuff adds to the woes of the survivors of a brutal tariff war sparked by the 2016 entry of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., an upstart that disrupted the industry with free calls and cheap data. Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, with a combined net debt of about $30 billion, reported record losses in the quarter through September.
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