Idea Cellular sells tower biz to American Tower Corporation for Rs 4,000 cr

Close on the heels of its merger with Vodafone India, Idea Cellular on Thursday announced the completion of the sale of its standalone 9,900 towers to the Indian unit of US-based tower firm American Tower Corporation (ATC) for Rs 4,000 crore.

Earlier, Vodafone had also sold off its tower business to ATC for an enterprise value of about Rs 3,850 crore.

Post the completion of Vodafone India and Idea merger, about 6,300 co-located tenancies of the two operators on the combined standalone tower portfolio will collapse into single tenancies over a period of two years without the payment of exit penalties. Both Vodafone India and Idea as customers, and ATC as a vendor have agreed to treat each other as long-term preferred partners, subject to existing arrangements, Idea said in a statement.

The receipt of both these proceeds prior to completion was provided for in the merger agreement and will not affect the agreed terms of the merger, including the amount of debt which Vodafone will contribute to the combined entity at the closing of the merger transaction, Idea said.

Amit Sharma, American Tower's EVP and president, Asia said, "This will complement our existing footprint and help us serve our tenants in India as they expand their 4G networks in the coming years. This transaction also expands our presence in Central, North and Northeast India (Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, North East, Odisha and Jammu & Kashmir Circles, among others)– under-served areas in which we expect substantial future 4G-focused investments."

ATC India operates/owns about 68,000 towers across the country.

IDEA Cellular Limited