Telecom infrastructure company Indus Towers (Indus) will acquire mobile sites of Bharti Airtel Limited and Bharti Hexacom Limited for Rs 3,308.7 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing. The boards of Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom have approved the sale/transfer of approximately 12,700 telecom towers and 3,400 telecom towers for Rs 2,147.6 crore and Rs 1,134 crore, respectively. The deal excludes the transfer of sites installed under Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) projects.
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Bharti Airtel
"The Board of Directors of the Company, at its meeting held on February 06, 2025, has approved sale/transfer of approximately 12,700 Telecom Towers of the Company [which includes Macro Sites, Ultra Lean Sites (ULS) and Cell on Wheels (COW) and excludes sites under Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)] to Indus Towers Limited, a subsidiary company, by way of a slump sale subject to statutory approvals under the applicable laws," Bharti Airtel said in an exchange filing.
"The transfer is aimed at creating benefits from group-wide synergies of operations; enable sharper focus on tower assets; and better administration of tower business operations within the Group," Bharti Airtel added.
Indus Towers
Separately, Indus Towers, in its exchange filing on February 6, 2025, said, "The Board of Directors (through a duly constituted Committee) have today, approved the acquisition of passive infrastructure assets/ Telecom Towers from Bharti Airtel Limited and Bharti Hexacom Limited, by way of slump sale, subject to necessary statutory approvals under the applicable laws."
Rationale Behind the Acquisition
Indus said the proposed acquisition aligns with the company's strategic priority of increasing market share and generating benefits through operational synergies. "The said acquisition will play an important role in the Company's growth plans due to its location and colocation status, which provide, inter-alia, sharing opportunities that could drive revenue growth," Indus added.
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Expected Benefits and Market Impact
Indus noted that the transaction comprises the acquisition of passive infrastructure assets/Telecom Towers including associated assets which include Macro Sites, Ultra Lean Sites (ULS) and Cell on Wheels (COW) from Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharti Airtel) and Bharti Hexacom Limited (Bharti Hexacom) by way of slump sale.
Indus has a pan-India presence with 234,643 towers and 386,819 co-locations as of December 31, 2024 (last reported figure). The closing sharing factor is 1.65.
Through the proposed transaction, Indus Towers plans to acquire an aggregate of approximately 16,100 Telecom Towers. Indus said in its filing that the transaction would further enhance the Company's asset portfolio.
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Timeline and Completion of the Deal
"Bharti Airtel is the promoter, and the holding company of the Company and Bharti Hexacom is a fellow subsidiary of the Company," Indus noted, adding that the cash sale is expected to be completed on or before March 31, 2025, subject to statutory and other approvals.
