Mumbai-based ICICI Bank has acquired a 29.3% stake in beleaguered telco GTL after taking over 28.5 million shares pledged by its promoter, Global Holding Corporation, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.
At the same time GTL’s…
Mumbai-based ICICI Bank has acquired a 29.3% stake in beleaguered telco GTL after taking over 28.5 million shares pledged by its promoter, Global Holding Corporation, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.
At the same time GTL’s subsidiary GTL Infra rejected reports about formal merger talks with Viom Networks.
On 26 July, when the transaction between GTL and ICICI was completed, GTL’s share price stood at about Rs72 (US$1.6), allowing ICICI to recover an estimated Rs2.05bn (US$46.4m).
According to reports, ICICI is owed about Rs5bn by GTL (US$113m).
GTL and GTL Infrastructure, its telecom towers unit, are reportedly looking to restructure a total of Rs170bn (US$3.8bn) in debt after defaulting on repayments earlier in July.
GTL has debts of about Rs60bn (US$1.35bn), while GTL Infra has debts of Rs110bn (US$2.45bn), wrote reports. The companies have appointed SBI Capital Markets to help review their operations, including their financial performance and obligations.
About a week ago, GTL Infra announced both a new debt restructuring plan and the resignation of its CEO, A.Ravi.
In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, GTL infrastructure said that its board approved a draft of the debtor-creditor agreement under the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) scheme.
In a separate filing, GTL Infra revealed that IFCI, a financial consultancy group and one of GTL Infra’s lenders, would be acquiring a 18.423% stake in the company. In effect, IFCI is converting the debt it holds in GTL Infrastructure into an equity stake in the company.
Meanwhile, GTL Infra has denied being currently in formal talks with cellco and tower operator Viom Networks over a potential merger. This comes after it was recently reported that Viom was looking to acquire GTL Infra for as much as Rs75bn (US$1.7bn).
In early July, it had already been speculated that the two companies were looking to merge, in a transaction that would have created India’s second largest towerco, after Indus Towers, with about 70,000 towers.
GTL Infra has about 32,500 towers, while Viom has 30,000.
But with the debt restructuring underway, some argued that talks regarding a potential transaction had to be put on hold. In a filing today, GTL Infra confirmed that there are “many aspirants who want to acquire the company’s assets or partner with the company” but dismissed rumours of “formal discussions”.
