British telco Vodafone has told Reuters it is not currently engaged in a formal sale process for 7000 towers owned by Vodafone Essar. Last week, reports suggested that Indian cellco Vodafone Essar, majority-owned by Vodafone, was looking to sell some…
British telco Vodafone has told Reuters it is not currently engaged in a formal sale process for 7000 towers owned by Vodafone Essar.
Last week, reports suggested that Indian cellco Vodafone Essar, majority-owned by Vodafone, was looking to sell some towers across seven circles for as much as Rs 20bn (US$450m).
According to local TV channel ET Now, towers companies GTL, Viom and Reliance Infratel were expected to submit bids, while Vodafone Essar may also merge its towers with Indus Towers in return for a larger stake in the company, according to the channel.
Back in 2007, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone Essar spun off some of their towers into an independent company, Indus Towers.
With several tower companies in India, a new wave of consolidation is expected in the near future.
But in September, GTL’s US$11bn merger with the Reliance Infratel towers business collapsed. Experts in the industry believe there might have been valuation differences between the two companies.
GTL, Viom and Reliance could not be immediately reached for comment while Vodafone did not return emails and phone calls before going to press.
