Bharti Infratel mulls acquiring Indus Tower

Telecom tower company Bharti Infratel is evaluating options of acquiring stake in rival tower company Indus Towers, with the aim of making it a subsidiary.

''The board of Bharti Infratel, in their meeting held on 30 October 2017, has decided to explore and evaluate acquisition of stake in one or more tranches in Indus Towers Limited with the aim of making it a subsidiary or wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Infratel,'' the company said in a regulatory filing.

Bharti Infratel, the country's only listed tower firm, owns 42 per cent stake in Indus Towers, which has a portfolio of 1.23 lakh towers.

Vodafone India, the country's second largest telecom operator holds a 42-per cent stake, while the remaining 16 per cent is held by Idea Cellular.

Separately, Bharti Infratel has posted a 17-per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs638 crore for the second quarter ended September 30. In comparison, the company had recorded a net profit of Rs774 crore recorded during the corresponding quarter a year back.

The company's consolidated revenues for the quarter grew 11 per cent to Rs3,648 crore, compared with Rs 3,292 crore posted during the year-ago quarter.

''Indian telecom has embraced the data centric model and is emerging as the showcase of digital technology with operators rolling out 4G networks and India planning a leadership role on upcoming 5G technology and associated applications. Leading operators have announced enhanced investment plans towards improvising digital infrastructure during the recently concluded India Mobile Congress,'' said Bharti Infratel Chairman Akhil Gupta.

''The government of India's Smart Cities programme presents additional opportunity to create infrastructure for sharing on a non-discriminatory basis. All of this is good for the sector at large,'' he added.

Summary of the consolidated statement of income – (represents proforma consolidated statement of income as per IND AS).