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Reliance and GTL merge Indian tower units
28 June 2010
A combined company will own 80,000 mobile phone towers across India, shared by 10 operators
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GTL
Reliance
towers
Etisalat
India
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Reliance Communications has combined its telecom towers business, Reliance Infratel, with that if rival company GTL Infrastructure.
Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close within six months, were not disclosed. The Reliance company is expected to receive nearly $3 billion in cash to pay down debt.
The combined company will have an enterprise value of over $11 billion and will own more than 80,000 towers across India, with more than 125,000 tenancies from over 10 operators.
GTL Infrastructure’s chairman, Manoj Tirodkar, will own 30% to 35% of the combined tower business, while the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group will own 26%, with shareholders in the two firms holding the remainder. Reliance Infratrel’s minority investors will get shares in the merged entity.
The company will not sell its optic fibre network and related assets. Reliance Communications owner Anil Ambani is also planning to sell a 26% stake in Reliance Communications to Gulf operator, Etisalat. GTB