13 January 2025
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have reportedly sold their stakes in Wi-Fi joint venture Firefly Networks to iBus for INR90 million, after almost two years of looking for a buyer.
Both companies sold their 50% stakes in Firefly to iBUS for INR45 million in a transaction due for closure within 30 days.
Firefly provides carrier-neutral Wi-Fi infrastructure for clients such as educational institutes, hospitals, malls, cafes, markets, transit points and corporate parks.
Airtel and Vodafone Idea formed Firefly in 2015 but have been looking to sell the firm since 2023. According to the report, Firefly contributed just 0.0065% to Airtel’s turnover in FY 2024, whilst also contributing INR55 million to Vodafone Idea’s losses in the same fiscal year.
iBus – which includes the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) among its backers – offers in-building and last-mile connectivity solutions. It plans to boost its position in that space and expand into emerging sectors like IoT.
