ATC acquires Essar tower unit for Rs 2100 cr

NEW DELHI, INDIA: American Tower Corp. (ATC) and the Essar Group, today announced the successful closure of the share purchase agreement signed earlier between Transcend Infrastructure Ltd (TIL), ATC’s wholly owned subsidiary, and three Essar Group companies for TIL to fully acquire Essar Telecom Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. (ETIPL) in an all cash deal.

The transaction values ETIPL, independent tower companies, at an enterprise value of approximately Rs. 2,100 crore, and is subject to certain post closing adjustments, said a press release.

The transaction represents the third tower acquisition in India by a member of the American Tower group since initiating operations in India in the fourth quarter of 2008.

ETIPL has a portfolio of 4,630 wireless communications tower sites, including a number of towers under construction. It has operations across 14 of the 23 telecom circles in India and has an industry leading tenancy ratio of 1.9x.

TIL is an indirect wholly owned Indian subsidiary of American Tower Corporation, a leading independent owner and operator of more than 27,800 wireless and broadcast communication sites and distributed antenna systems globally.

Vikash Saraf, director - Strategy and M&A, Essar Group said, “We are very pleased to complete this transaction which transfers a vibrant tower company we built up, to a world class tower infrastructure company like American Tower, who can take it to new heights as a significant participant in the growth of the Indian telecom industry.”

Amit Sharma, executive vice President and President Asia of ATC said: “We are very pleased to add ETIPL and its attractive tower portfolio to American Tower’s existing Indian operations. The combined portfolio will significantly strengthen our unique ability and capacity to serve our wireless telecom customers enhance their network coverage, reduce their Capex and Opex and help launch new technologies like 3G and WIMAX. ”

He added that this was their third acquisition in a span of 15 months shows their commitment to the Indian market. The strong team they get with ETIPL will help them better serve their customers by bringing in strong systems and processes for safe, multi tenant tower rollout that is environmentally sound.