British telecom giant Vodafone's Indian subsidiary on Tuesday said it will not launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) until March next year. The company, which is India's second biggest mobile carrier by market share, said it would proceed with the market listing as soon as "market conditions" allow.
"We do not expect this to take place during the current financial year," Vodafone India told media publications. The telecom firm's IPO is expected to raise about $2-$3 billion.
The draft prospectus was previously expected to be filed in September or October, Reuters had reported.
In August, it was reported that Vodafone's market launch had been delayed because the telecom firm wants to wait for Reliance Jio to begin its services. The telecom firm's market debut is touted to be India's biggest public offering since 2010, surpassing a $1.5 billion IPO of state-run Coal India.
Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Kotak Mahindra Bank and UBS Group are global coordinators, who will lead telecom firm's planned IPO.
Vodafone, which is already a major player in India's telecom space, said it would use the proceeds from the IPO to buy more spectrum and expand its service in the country that has more than one billion mobile phone users (second largest in the world after China).
At the end of March 31, the British company said its India business contributed to 5 percent growth in its total revenue to $6.68 billion, while its net debt stood at $12.09 billion.
