Bharti Infratel decides to explore and evaluate acquisition stake in Indus Towers

Bharti Infratel Limited said that it has decided to explore and evaluate acquisition of the stake in one or more tranches in Indus Towers Limited.

The company says that it aims to make Indus a subsidiary or wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Infratel Limited.

Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel Limited, said, "As Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers, we are well positioned to grab our fair share of market and create sustainable value for all stakeholders"

"Indian telecom has embraced the data-centric model and is emerging as the showcase of digital technology with operators rolling out 4G networks and India planning a leadership role on upcoming 5G technology and associated applications. Leading operators have announced enhanced investment plans towards improvising digital infrastructure during the recently concluded India Mobile Congress. The Government of India's Smart Cities program presents additional opportunity to create infrastructure for sharing on a non-discriminatory basis. All of this is good for the sector at large," he added.

As of Sep 30, 2017, Bharti Infratel owned and operated 39,264 towers with 94,538 co-locations in 11 telecommunication Circles while Indus operated 123,073 towers with 298,929 co-locations in 15 telecommunication Circles. With Bharti Infratel's towers and Bharti Infratel's 42 percent interest in Indus, we have an economic interest in the equivalent of 90,955 towers and 220,088 co-locations in India, the company said.

With the current count of over 1,22,920 towers, Indus has the widest coverage in India and is also the largest telecom tower company in the country.

Meanwhile, Bharti Infratel posted revenue of Rs 3,648 crore in the July-September 2017 which included a contribution of Rs 1,990.5 crore from Indus Towers.