As it was rumoured earlier, Reliance Jio officially announced that it's acquiring the wireless infrastructure of Reliance Communications (RCom). The subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for the acquisition of specified assets of RCom and its affiliates. The monetisation process of assets will be mandated by SBI Capital Markets Limited.
“An asset monetisation process for RCOM assets was mandated by the lenders of RCOM, who appointed SBI Capital Markets Limited to run the process. The process is supervised by an independent group of distinguished industry experts. RJIL emerged as the successful bidder in the two-stage bidding process,” said Jio in a media statement.
As a result of the agreement, Reliance Jio or its nominees will acquire assets of RCom and its nominees under four categories- Towers, Optic Fiber Cable Network (OFC), Spectrum and Media Convergence Nodes (MCN).
“These assets are strategic in nature and are expected to contribute significantly to the large-scale roll-out of wireless and Fiber to Home and Enterprise services by Reliance Jio,” said the company.
The Mukesh Ambani-led telco also confirmed that the “acquisition is subject to receipt of requisite approvals from Governmental and regulatory authorities, consents from all lenders, the release of all encumbrances on the said assets and other conditions precedent. The consideration is payable at completion and is subject to adjustments as specified in the agreement.”
Both the parties are bound by confidentiality obligations and will make further disclosure at the appropriate time. Reliance Jio is being advised by Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Global Markets, JM Financial Private Limited, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co and Ernst & Young on this transaction.
In a recent report, it was stated that Reliance Jio emerged as the front-runner to acquire the assets of RCom in the 850 MHz and 2100 MHz band. It was also said that other leading telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, and Idea Cellular also shown interest in RCom’s spectrum in the 900 MHz band.
Jio, in the press statement, did not reveal the valuation of the deal. However, the recent report said that the deal is valued at about Rs 19,000 crore for the remainder of the licence period. Having said that, RCom has 850 MHz spectrum in all 22 circles, 2100 MHz spectrum in 13 circles and 900 MHz in 2 circles.
