INFRATEL DEAL WITH INDUS DELAYED FOR THE THIRD TIME

NEW DELHI: Telecom tower company Bharti Infratel Ltd on Monday said its board has extended for a third time the deadline to complete a planned merger with Indus Towers Ltd. The company, however, cautioned that the completion of the deal will depend on how the apex court verdict on telecom dues impacts the industry.

On Friday, the tower arm of Bharti Airtel received a crucial permission from the department of telecommunications (DoT) to raise the foreign direct investment limit in the company, which is crucial for the merger.

DoT also approved the merger of the two tower companies, offering a glimmer of hope to Vodafone Idea Ltd which plans to sell its stake in the merged entity to raise funds.

“Since the other actions/conditions precedent to be fulfilled for the scheme (of merger)to become effective cannot be completed by the extended long stop date i.e. February 24, 2020, the board had further extended the long stop date till April 24, 2020, subject to agreement on closing adjustments and other conditions precedent for closing, with each party retaining the right to terminate and withdraw the scheme,” Bharti Infratel said in an exchange filing.

“The final decision to implement the scheme will be taken by the board keeping in mind the best interest of the company and its stakeholders including the assessment of the current crisis facing the telecom industry and the extent of its impact on the company’s major customers,” Bharti Infratel said.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, the two companies worst hit by the apex court ruling on adjusted gross revenue (AGR), are customers of the two tower companies.

Vodafone Idea has a 11.15% stake in Indus Towers, which it plans to monetise after the tower merger, and this stake sale could fetch it about ₹4,500 crore, Mint had reported on Friday.