As Kumar Mangalam Birla rejoins the business board, Vodafone Idea shares rise 10%.

Following the company's announcement that it has appointed Kumar Mangalam Birla as an Additional Director (Non-Executive and Non-Independent) with effect from April 20, 2023, shares of Vodafone Idea increased by around 10% in Friday's trading.

At 10:10 am, Vodafone Idea shares were up 9.92% from Thursday's closing price, trading at Rs 6.65 on the NSE.

Less than two years after quitting the mobile service provider, the Indian billionaire has rejoined the Vodafone Idea board as a new director.

Additionally, Birla holds the position of chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, a conglomerate with operations in 14 different industries, such as retail, insurance, and cement.

According to information from Vodafone Idea's website that was cited in a Reuters story, the Group owned 18.07% of Vodafone Idea as of December 31.

Before the Indian government converted the roughly $2 billion in debt it owed to the business into stock in February, becoming its largest stakeholder, Vodafone Idea's net debt was Rs 2.23 lakh core ($27.18 billion), according to this study.

Government rescue measures for debt-ridden telecom businesses were adopted in 2021, enabling them to convert interest on postponed adjusted gross revenue owed to the government into equity.

According to the telecom firm, Krishna Kishore Maheshwari, a former senior executive of Ultratech Cement, which is owned by the Aditya Birla Group, resigned as a non-executive director for "personal reasons," according to the Reuters article.