New Delhi, June 26 -- Vodafone Idea share price traded higher on Thursday, extending gains for the third straight session, amid heavy buying volumes. Vodafone Idea shares rose as much as 2.38% to Rs.7.30 apiece on the BSE. The telecom stock has rallied 15% in five sessions.

The latest gains in Vodafone Idea shares come amid reports that the telco seeks to raise Rs.25,000 crore in loans from banks to bolster its network and compete better with large rivals.

According to a Bloomberg report, Vodafone Idea is talking to lenders to borrow about Rs.25,000 crore ($2.9 billion) in loans and State Bank of India (SBI) will likely lead a consortium of lenders.

The debt is expected to be a mix of domestic and foreign loans with a tenor of about 10...