State-run transmission firm PowerGrid plans to raise about Rs 8,600 crore through a follow-on public offer (FPO) in November. The company will also invite bids from telecom companies in the next three to four months for leasing out its towers. “We will finalise the deal by the end of this fiscal,” said Chairman and Managing Director S K Chaturvedi of the tower lease plan.
The company is expecting Rs 350-400 crore from the telecom business in the next four-five years. PowerGrid owns 150,000 power transmission towers, with almost 70 per cent of these in semi-urban and rural areas. The company plans to mop Rs 8,600 crore from its FPO.