Corporate Grapevine     

Published: September 30, 2025
Updated: September 30, 2025

BSNL-Vi merger not now

After discussing in details the proposed merger of Vodafone Idea (VI) with BSNL, the government of India has come to the conclusion that this is not the proper time for to merge BSNL and VI, it is learnt. After the discussions the Union Minister Jyotiraditya is reported to have stated that the government is not considering merging Vodafone Idea with BSNL.

It is gathered that the discussions brought out fears that a merger could be detrimental with potential risks like a dilution of Vodafone Idea’s shareholders, erosion of value and significant financial fallout for both the companies.

But what is in future? Today, the government’s equity stake in VI is 48.99 per cent with Vodafone UK having 16.1 per cent and Aditya Birla group 9.4 per cent. But experts feel that VI will face funding shortfall of Rs. 25,000 crore in fiscal 2026 and Rs. 36,000 crore in the fiscal 2027. What will government do at that time? It is anybody’s guess.