Vodafone lenders approve merger of Indus Towers with Bharti Infratel

NewsBharati    05-Oct-2020 15:50:52 PM
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New Delhi, October 05: British telecom major Vodafone Group on Monday said it has received an approval from its lenders, who contributed in funding for Vodafone Idea, to proceed with the merger of Indus Towers with Bharti Infratel. Vodafone Idea holds 11.15 per cent stake in Indus Towers, which is estimated to be valued at around Rs 4,000 crore.
 
Vodafone Group Plc had announced on September 1, 2020 that it had agreed to proceed with the merger of Indus Towers Limited and Bharti Infratel Limited (Bharti Infratel, together the 'combined company').
 
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"The agreement to proceed was conditional on consent for a security package for the benefit of the combined company from Vodafone's existing lenders, for the 1.3 billion euros (about Rs 11,100 crore) loan utilised to fund Vodafone's contribution to the Vodafone Idea Ltd rights issue in 2019. This consent has now been received," Vodafone said in a statement.
 
The parties will now approach the National Company Law Tribunal to make the merger scheme effective. "The parties are working to complete the transaction expeditiously," Vodafone said in a statement. The transaction, first announced in April 2018, to create the world’s largest mobile tower firm outside China, is subject to approval of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
 
Bharti Airtel, the tower subsidiary of telecom major Bharti Airtel Ltd, had extended the long-stop date of merger with Indus Towers six times citing incomplete details of the approval. The board of Bharti Infratel had approved the merger on 1 September. The proceeds from the divestment of Vodafone Idea’s stake in Indus Towers will help the financially-stressed telco partly pay its adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues.
 
 
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