Telecom infrastructure firm American Tower Corporation and Vodafone India said today that they have completed the Rs 3,850 crore deal under which ATC has bought the mobile operator's tower business.
"Vodafone India has completed the sale of its standalone tower business in India to ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited for an enterprise value of Rs 38.5 billion," the mobile operator said in statement.
ATC had signed a pact last November to acquire around 20,000 mobile towers of Vodafone and Idea Cellular for total value of around Rs 7,850 crore.
We are pleased to acquire this portfolio, which will complement our existing footprint and help us serve our tenants in India as they expand 4G services in the coming years," ATC's EVP and President, Asia, Amit Sharma said.
The purchase of Vodafone mobile towers adds nearly 10,200 sites to the existing Indian portfolio of 58,000 mobile towers of ATC.
The completion of this deal brings the Idea and Vodafone merger a step closer. The closure of Rs 4,000-crore mobile tower sale deal between ATC and Idea is now awaited.
According to government sources, the merger of Idea and Vodafone is likely to be cleared after the closure of Idea-ATC deal.
"We expect regulatory processes to be completed by end of this month (for closure of deal with Idea). The Department of Telecom is driving it. We are hopeful of completing the deal by May," Sharma said.
Vodafone said that the company along with Idea announced their intention to sell their individual standalone tower businesses to strengthen the combined financial position of the merged entity.
"The merger is expected to complete in the first half of the current calendar year," Vodafone said.
The purchase of around 20,000 mobile towers are expected to generate approximately Rs 2,100 crore in property revenue and approximately Rs 800 crore in gross margin during their first full year in ATC's portfolio.
"The guidance was for full year. We will now focus on synergising operations of these towers and increasing their operational efficiency," Sharma said.
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