Malaysian telecoms group Axiata is looking to acquire the towers held by Indian Idea Cellular in order to create a larger tower company across seven countries.
This is according to The Times of India citing banking sources.
Axiata, which owns a 20%…
Malaysian telecoms group Axiata is looking to acquire the towers held by Indian Idea Cellular in order to create a larger tower company across seven countries.
This is according to The Times of India citing banking sources.
Axiata, which owns a 20% stake in Idea, is present in 10 countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Singapore, Iran, Pakistan, and Thailand.
Among these subsidiaries, two, at least, are known to hold telecoms towers.
Idea has reportedly more than 8,000 towers in India valued at approximately US$600m. It also holds a minority stake in Indus Towers, an Indian joint venture with Vodafone India and Bharti, which owns more than 100,000 towers in the country.
In Indonesia, mobile operator XL Axiata controls more than 20,000 towers. Late last year, XL Axiata tried sell up to 8,500 towers in order to focus on its core businesses, but the plan was scrapped in early April because of a lack of interest from potential bidders.
According to one of the sources quoted by The Times of India, Idea has been studying Axiata’s proposal, although no decision has been taken yet. The Indian company is reportedly looking to have more information on the financial viability of the tower project and potential regulatory issues.
When contacted, Idea declined to comment on speculation. Axiata could not be reached before the press deadline.
In India, another company, Reliance Communications (RCom), has been considering divesting its towers. But Punit Garg, an RCom president, was recently quoted telling reporters that the telco is awaiting clarity on regulatory issues in the country before proceeding with the sale of its tower unit, known as Reliance Infratel.
