TTSL gets Rs 2,367 cr from Quippo; closes tower sharing pact

"We have closed the deal with Tata Teleservices’s Wireless-TT Info-Services Ltd (WTTIL) and have made a payment of Rs 2,367 crore. Quippo now will have four new members in the WTTIL board," Quippo Telecom Infrastructure (QTIL) Director Sunil Kanoria said.

QTIL, which is a Srei Group company, made a payment for a 30 per cent stake in WTTIL, while for the remaining 19 per cent, it would transfer 5,000 towers to the new company formed post the acquisition.

Following the acquisition, Tata Teleservices would merge its tower arm with Quippo to create a Rs 13,000-crore entity with 18,000 towers, making it the second-largest firm in terms of number of towers.

As per the terms of the partnership, Quippo telecom despite holding a low stake of 49 per cent would control the management.

The four new members from Quippo who joined the WTTIL board today are Sunil Kanoria, his brother Hemant Kanoria, chairman and managing director of Srei Infrastructure and two other shareholders IDFC and Oman Investment fund. MORE

He further added that Quippo would eventually rebrand the merged entity.

On the funds, Kanoria said the company has not issued any fresh equity. The existing shareholders of Quippo has funded the whole deal, he added.

QTIL’s main shareholders include IDFC Private Equity, Oman Investment Fund (OIF) and SREI and its various subsidiaries.

The existing telecom tower market in India has seen a lot of competition with Indus Towers, which is a tripartite independent venture between Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone Essar, followed by Reliance Telecom Infrastructure Ltd (RTIL), the hived off tower arm of RCom.