Bharti Infratel-Indus deal positive but Vodafone-Idea overhang a concern

Valuations a tad in favour of Indus; impact of Voda-Idea merger suggests tenancies to remain under pressure

The merger announcement of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers had little impact on the former's share price, which fell one per cent, despite the benefits. Why?

Infratel would gain significant scale --- with 1,63,162 telecom towers, including 39,523 already owned, and 367,000 tenancies across all 22 service areas in India, it will be the largest tower company in the world, excluding China. And, with a simple operating structure, the merged entity could see benefits of scale for capex and maintenance, besides, savings on dividend distribution tax (of Rs 5 billion). 

On the flip side, some analysts are a bit surprised with the