| Excl: GTL Infra to get $250-275mn PE funding |
| Rajesh S Kurup / Mumbai October 18, 2007 |
| GTL Infrastructure (GIL) has received commitment from a global private equity investor for around $250-275 million (Rs 1,000-1,100 crore). "GIL has signed a stake sale deal with a leading institutional investor, which has operations in three countries - the US, the UK and Singapore. The deal is expected to be announced shortly, if not tomorrow, " a well-informed source said. The deal was signed today, but the source did not divulge the name of the PE major nor the percentage of stake divested for the investment. GIL is a subsidiary of network services provider GTL, and is a provider of telecom infrastructure like base transceiver stations (BTS). When contacted, a company spokesperson declined to comment on the deal. Meanwhile, in a release issued by GTL Infrastructure to the BSE today, the company said its board will meet tomorrow to finalise a proposal for preferential issue of shares/warrants up to Rs 1,200 crore. The telecom infrastructure provider intends to use the proceeds for its expansion plans including setting up additional towers. GIL intends to take its total number of towers to around 25,000 in the next three years from the present 3,500 BTSes. According to an industry analyst, telecom infrastructure is a growing business in the country and many foreign players to looking at investing in the sector. Private telecom majors like Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Tata Teleservices have announced plans to hive off their tower businesses and sell stakes in them. The present mobile subscriber base is around 211 million, which is slated to grow to around 500 million in the next three years. At present, the industry has around one lakh towers, and this will rise to around 3,00,000 in the next three years, the source added. This is the second stake sale of the GTL group after a clutch of foreign investors acquired a 49% stake in Global Assets Holding (GHC), the holding company of GTL and GIL, for Rs 560 crore last week. The investors included Singapore's SC Bank private equity fund, Mauritius |
