Following this year’s US$17.7bn spectrum auction, India’s independent towercos are raising cash for build-outs aimed at helping telcos meet expected demand for 3G and 4G services.
Ascend Telecom’s private equity owners are planning to list 25% of…
Following this year’s US$17.7bn spectrum auction, India’s independent towercos are raising cash for build-outs aimed at helping telcos meet expected demand for 3G and 4G services.
Ascend Telecom’s private equity owners are planning to list 25% of the towerco in the US in a transaction worth some US$100m, reports the Economic Times.
New Silk Route is the majority owner, with a 68% stake, while the remainder is held by IL&FS and TVS Group.
With 4,500 towers, the company has reportedly been valued at 2,500 crore (US$394m).
Spokespeople for Ascend and its owners were not immediately available for comment.
Viom Networks has, for its part, postponed its IPO planned for December 2015 until March or April 2016. Director Sunil Kanoria said the postponement was due to weakening market conditions, according to quotes published in the Economic Times.
The company had previously been linked to American Tower (NYSE:AMT), which was reportedly interested in buying a controlling stake. The US towerco, however, failed to meet the reported 12x EBITDA asking price.
Viom would seek to raise Rs10bn (US$157m) from an IPO to fund tower expansion, and also give its owners an opportunity to cash out.
Spokespeople for Viom, its owners and American Tower were not immediately available for comment.
Viom is owned by Tata Teleservices (54%), Srei (18.5%) and private equity firms including Macquarie SBI Infrastructure, GIC Investments, IDFC Private Equity and the Oman Investment Fund.
The company operates 42,000 towers, and plans to build another 2,000 this year. It reported a revenue of Rs5bn (US$789m) for the financial year ended March 2015.
Bharti Infratel (NSE:INFRATEL), which owns some 86,000 towers, is reportedly valued at Rs84bn (US$13.3bn), while Reliance Infratel, which has 45,000 towers is valued at Rs20bn-Rs24bn (US$3.15bn-US$3.78bn).
