ATC completes Rs 3,800-crore mobile tower deal with Vodafone India, Idea pact expected by May

ATC Telecom Infrastructure, a majority owned Indian subsidiary of American Tower Corporation (ATC), has completed the acquisition of Vodafone India’s 10,200 towers, for Rs 3800 crores.

“We are pleased to acquire this portfolio, which will complement our existing footprint and help us serve our tenants in India as they expand 4G services in the coming years,” said Amit Sharma, American Tower’s EVP and president, Asia.

Last November, ATC announced its intention to acquire the towers assets of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, which is getting merged to become the largest telecom firm in India. Selling off their towers would help the two merging telcos pare debt while boosting the tower portfolio of the US acquirer in a market witnessing massive 4G rollouts.


"In the Vodafone India / Idea merger announcement of 20 March 2017, both parties announced their intention to sell their individual standalone tower businesses to strengthen the combined financial position of the merged entity. The merger is expected to complete in the first half of the current calendar year," said Vodafone Group in its statement on Tuesday.

Idea would receive Rs 4,000 crore from ATC if the sale of its towers happen before the merger completion.