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Vodafone Idea Ltd, which is looking to raise Rs 45,000 crore in equity and debt, has secured equity commitments from anchor investors exceeding $1 billion (Rs 8200 crore), people familiar with the development said.

The possible tying up of funds from a clutch of investors, the identities of whom could not be immediately ascertained, marks a crucial step forward for the telecom giant as it navigates its financial restructuring.

Vodafone Idea has informally engaged a group of investment banks to devise efficient funding structures for the planned fundraising, the people said, requesting anonymity. The company, according to them, is looking to optimize its fundraising strategy by exploring various avenues, including the preferred method of equity fundraising. Options under consideration include a rights issue, preferential allotment, or a follow-on public offering.

“A preferential allotment will allow it to raise funding through a hybrid structure such as warrants, a rights issue or FPO will allow Vodafone Idea to price the new shares at a level deemed reasonable by the incoming investors as well existing shareholders,” one of the people cited above, a banker, said.

Email queries to spokespeople for Vodafone Idea, Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group Plc did not elicit a response.

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