The merger of Idea Cellular with Vodafone India comes amid high competition in the telecom sectorIdea Cellular shareholders on Tuesday approvedthe resolution to change the name of the company to Vodafone Idea Ltd.
Idea Cellular conducted an extraordinary general meeting in Gujarat.
Aditya Birla Group company Idea Cellular said in a regulatory filing that its shareholders passed the resolution to change the name of the company "with requisite majority".Idea Cellularis merging with Vodafone Indiaand is at present the third largest telecom operator in the country.Tuesday's meeting, which concluded at 1:00 pm, was chaired by managing director Himanshu Kapania, the telecom company said in a filing to the BSE post-market hours on Tuesday.
Idea Cellular chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla was absent.Ahead of the outcome of the EGM, Idea Cellular shares rose to close with a gain of 3 per cent.The shareholders also approved fund-raising worth Rs 15,000 crore through issuance of non-convertible securities on a private placement basis.Aditya Birla Group company Idea Cellular had earlier this month informed the stock exchanges that it was seeking approval of the members for both the resolutions.After its merger with Vodafone India, the Indian operations of British telecom major Vodafone, the joint enterprise would surpass Bharti Airtel to create the country's largest telecom operator.
Once the deal goes through, Vodafone will own a 45.1 per cent stake in the merged entity, while Idea Cellular will have 26 per cent.Mr Birla will be the non-executive chairman of the merged company.Idea Cellular and Vodafone India had in March last year announced their intent to merge their operations to create the country's largest telecom operator.