|
Mumbai:
Vodafone group, which recently acquired controlling
stake in Indian mobile operator Hutch-Essar for $10.9
billion, has received a capital restructuring proposal
that could unlock value of up to $75 billion for its investors.
Vodafone
CEO Arun Sarin, who acknowledged the receipt of a restructuring
call from Efficient Capital Structures (ECS), an influential
activist investor lobby, in a regulatory filing, said
the company was reviewing the contents of the letter and
would make an announcement in due course.
ECS,
backed by another investment group and former Marconi
Finance director John Mayo-run investment fund Beehive
Capital, has asked Vodafone to submit a number of resolutions
at the company`s AGM on July 24 concerning the potential
restructuring options for the company.
"We
believe Vodafone is undervalued because it has an inefficient
capital structure. Its most valuable asset is a passive,
minority share and its balance sheet is under-geared,"
the activist fund said in a separate statement.
The
resolutions if implemented could release between 17-38
billion pounds of value to shareholders, ECS chairman
Glenn Cooper said.
The
fund has also established a website vote4value to garner
support of Vodafone shareholders for its proposals
"Our
site is designed to help fellow shareholders and American
depository receipt
(ADR) holders of Vodafone Group PLC to understand our
proposals and why they should vote in favour the resolutions
at Vodafone`s AGM on July 24," it said.
|