A private equity consortium comprising Blackstone and Carlyle is in exclusive talks to acquire Reliance Communications’ (RCom) tower unit, the Times of India reports referring to a “source directly familiar with the process”.
The deal, which is…
A private equity consortium comprising Blackstone and Carlyle is in exclusive talks to acquire Reliance Communications’ (RCom) tower unit, the Times of India reports referring to a “source directly familiar with the process”.
The deal, which is expected to be sealed next month, could have a value of more than US$3.5bn, the article states. However the valuation was not confirmed by this first source.
According to a second source the PE firms offered US$3bn initially. However valuation could now increase if a tower sharing deal between RCom and Reliance Industries is sealed.
As reported previously RCom and Reliance Industries, owned by estranged brothers Anil and Mukesh Ambani respectively, are said to currently negotiate a deal that would allow Reliance Industries to use RCom’s tower infrastructure.
The second source quoted in the Times article said that such a deal would boost the valuation of the whole tower unit, as a result of which RCom could increase the asking price to around US$4bn.
There were three bids initially, the first source is quoted saying in the article, but the Blackstone/Carlyle consortium was now shortlisted, with Blackstone expected to be the lead investor.
