Bharti Infratel, Indus Towers merger gets NCLT nod

The Chandigarh bench of the National Company Law Tribunal has approved the merger of Indus Towers with Bharti Infratel, which will create one of the largest telecom tower companies globally. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone will jointly control the pan-India company, which will operate over 163,000 telecom towers across 22 service areas with an estimated valuation of USD 12–13 billion.

Indus Towers CEO Bimal Dayal would head the merged entity, while Hemant Ruia would be its chief financial officer. The merger, proposed almost a year ago, is expected to conclude by the end of June after obtaining regulatory approvals. In the interim, the existing leadership teams of Indus and Bharti Infratel will manage their respective businesses.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Plc. currently own 42 percent each in Indus Towers and are expected to hold 37.2 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively, in the merged entity. KKR and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will own a combined 6 percent, stemming from their stake of over 10 percent in Bharti Infratel. Vodafone Idea, currently holding 11.15 percent in Indus, is slated to exit at the time of merger.