Investor group seeks Vodafone capital restructuring to unlock $75 billion in value

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