Indian group GTL Infrastructure is looking to raise as much as Rs 35bn (US$788m) to help reduce its Rs 90bn (US$2bn) debt, according to the Economic Times.
The independent towers company will raise Rs 13.3bn (US$300m) by selling new shares to financial…
Indian group GTL Infrastructure is looking to raise as much as Rs 35bn (US$788m) to help reduce its Rs 90bn (US$2bn) debt, according to the Economic Times.
The independent towers company will raise Rs 13.3bn (US$300m) by selling new shares to financial institutional players. The remaining US$488m or so will be raised through the sale of treasury stock to a strategic investor, according to the newspaper.
More than half of GTL’s debt was incurred at the beginning of 2010 when GTL bought 17,500 towers from Aircel for US$1.8bn, the Economic Times wrote.
Commenting on the report, an senior executive at GTL told TelecomFinance that the report was speculative. But the company indicated in a statement that its board had approved a Rs 20bn (US$450m) fundraising to finance GTL’s expansion plan, which includes the purchase of new towers.
In the statement, GTL also confirmed that it is to absorb one of its units, Chennai Network Infrastructure, the special purpose vehicle used to acquire the Aircel tower business.
This announcement came a few weeks after GTL stated that its US$11bn merger with the Reliance Infratel towers business had been scrapped.
