MUMBAI: Financially stretched telecom services provider Vodafone Idea has processed a full payment of Rs 1,252 crore on their bonds to the six debt funds of Franklin Templeton MF that were proposed to be closed down. The payments from Vodafone Idea, which included the principal and the interest, will allow the fund house to pay the investors in these funds, later in the month, as provided by the press release.
The bonds recently matured on the latest Friday and were paid back in full amount, as told by the fund house. In the month of January this year, Franklin Templeton MF had downgraded their holdings in these bonds and have also created separate books, called ‘segregated portfolios’ in industry parlance, for each of their six funds, which held only the Vodafone Idea bonds.
The fund house also told that the total amount they received from Vodafone, its Ultra Short Bond Fund received Rs 804 crore, Low Duration Fund Rs 198 crore, Dynamic Accrual Fund Rs 96 crore, Short Term Income Fund Rs 86 crore, Income Opportunities Fund Rs 47 crore and Credit Risk Fund Rs 22 crore respectively.
The total payment of Rs 1,252-crore from Vodafone is the ‘full and final payment’ for the segregated portfolios and will be made by extinguishing all the outstanding units held by each unitholder under those portfolios. Investors who hold units of such funds, in any physical or any Demat mode, are respectively expected to receive their share of the amounts between July 14 and July 20 of the same month, as told by the fund house.
On April 23, Franklin Templeton MF had duly announced the closure of these six debt schemes. However, after that decision, several investors proceeded to the court and finally, the Supreme Court had transferred all the cases to Karnataka HC, where the proceedings are to be continued further.
