Private equity firms Providence and the Carlyle Group, as well as the sovereign wealth funds of Singapore and Dubai are considering forming a consortium to back Bahrain-based Batelco’s bid for India’s Reliance Globalcom, according to the Times of…
Private equity firms Providence and the Carlyle Group, as well as the sovereign wealth funds of Singapore and Dubai are considering forming a consortium to back Bahrain-based Batelco’s bid for India’s Reliance Globalcom, according to the Times of India citing people familiar with the matter.
Investment firm Samena Capital is reportedly putting the consortium together and could also take a small stake in Globalcom.
Under the plan, Batelco would acquire a 51% in Globalcom, while the consortium would take 30-35%, leaving parent company Reliance Communications (RCom) with a 15-20% interest. The deal could be completed by the end of May.
The transaction has been valued at approximately Rs60bn (US$1.1bn). According to the Times of India, the equity component of the deal has been estimated at US$500m-US$600m, while Batelco is hoping to secure the remaining US$600m via syndicated loans and capital market bonds arranged by Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.
Reliance Globalcom is RCom’s enterprise business unit. This potential deal is the latest attempt by billionaire Anil Ambani to reduce the telco’s Rs370bn (US$6.8bn) debt load.
Earlier this month, RCom agreed a fibre sharing deal with Reliance Industries, marking a thawing of relations between Anil and his brother Mukesh Ambani.
The company is also said to be in talks to lease tower assets to Reliance Industries in a deal that could see the latter buy a stake in Reliance Infratel, the towerco unit of RCom.
In addition, the telco giant is hoping to sell its DTH business, Reliance Digital TV, to Sun Group for approximately Rs20bn (US$366m), according to local reports.
It has been estimated that RCom could raise approximately Rs90bn (US$1.7bn) from those various deals.
Meanwhile, Batelco recently completed its acquisition of Cable and Wireless Communications’ (CWC) Monaco & Islands portfolio for US$570m, on a cash and debt free basis.
