Indian mobile operator Reliance Communications (RCom) will consider selling a stake in its tower unit, Reliance Infratel, next year in order to cut down its US$6.4bn debt load.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, chairman Anil Ambani…
Indian mobile operator Reliance Communications (RCom) will consider selling a stake in its tower unit, Reliance Infratel, next year in order to cut down its US$6.4bn debt load.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, chairman Anil Ambani reportedly told shareholders that RCom would also seek to list its undersea cable unit, Flag Telecom, when market conditions improve.
In late May, RCom said that it would await clarity on regulatory issues in the country before proceeding with the sale of Infratel.
About a year ago RCom confirmed that it had received offers for the unit’s 50,000 towers. A few months later private equity firms Blackstone and Carlyle emerged as most likely buyers for these assets. A deal was expected to fetch between Rs150bn (US$3bn) and Rs20bn (US$4bn).
But the 2G scam and the subsequent decision by India’s Supreme Court to cancel 122 licences have blurred the future for some telcos in the country.
About two years ago, RCom had already been very close to a deal with another tower company, GTL. The US$11bn tower merger later failed because of alleged valuation differences.
In July this year, the operator also decided to delay the planned listing of Flag Telecom on the Singapore stock exchange. Justifying its decision, RCom stated that it wanted to “await supportive market conditions and easing of prevailing global uncertainties to proceeds with the offering/listing at an appropriate time in the future.”
Reports had previously suggested that the indicative price range was set at US$700m-US$1bn.
