British telecoms group Vodafone is looking to sell its 5% stake in tower firm Indus Towers Ltd to Bharti Airtel, the telecom group said on Wednesday. The industry sources said that Vodafone is in talks to sell its about five per cent stake in Indus Towers, valued at over ₹ 3,300 crores, to Bharti Airtel. The proceeds will be pumped into the Indian entity Vodafone Idea, they added. When contacted, Vodafone refused to comment on the matter. Vodafone currently holds about 28 per cent in Indus Towers.
Indus Towers Limited, formerly Bharti Infratel Limited, provides passive telecom infrastructure. It deploys, owns and manages telecom towers and communication structures for various mobile operators. The firm’s portfolio of more than 1,84,748 telecom towers makes it one of the largest tower infrastructure providers in India with a presence in all 22 telecom circles. Indus Towers caters to all wireless telecommunication service providers in India.
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India’s telecom sector has been benefiting from increased data usage as more people take to remote work due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel had earlier said that it will raise $1 billion in debt after it reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue on higher tariff rates. Airtel said it would raise the amount, ₹75 billion, by issuing non-convertible debt securities, including debentures and bonds, but did not reveal how it would use the money.
