GTL Infrastructure Ltd has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its Meeting held on July 19, 2010 have taken on record the conclusion of the purchase of telecom towers of Aircel Ltd. and its subsidiaries.
Consequent to the completion of all conditions precedent of the definitive agreements, the final transaction value after adjustments based on Aircel disclosures is Rs. 80.26bn. The highlights of the transaction are as follows:
Purchase of 17,500 telecom towers
21,000 active tenants on these towers
Final Transaction value is Rs. 80.26bn
Commitment (backed by bank guarantee) of additional 20,000 tenancies to GTL Infrastructure over next three years from Aircel Ltd.
GTL Infra has acquired these assets through its subsidiary, Chennai Network Infrastructure Ltd. (CNIL). This transaction shall result into a immediate annual recurring revenue for CNIL/GTL Infra of Rs. 720 Crore for next 15 years with 3% escalation p.a.. Furthermore, on successful completion/execution of additional commitment of 20,000 tenancies from Aircel, GTL Infra may receive additional recurring revenue of Rs. 600-650 Crore p.a. Thus, the aggregate annual recurring revenue is likely to go up to Rs. 1,350-1,400 Crore from this transaction alone.
This transaction is likely to provide GTL Infra the platform to become the World's largest neutral and independent tower company with a portfolio of around 32,500 towers across all 23 telecom circles.
This transaction has also enabled GTL Infra to achieve a sizeable tower portfolio in high Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) generating Metros and Class A cities, which would help in attracting new 2G/3G/ Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) operators.
Aircel has won 3G & BWA license in 13 & 8 circles respectively. Since GTL Infra has a sizable tower portfolio in all the respective circles, it can cater to 3G and BWA requirements of Aircel in an effective manner.
In this regard, the Company has issued a Press Release dated July 19, 2010 titled "GTL Infrastructure Limited (GTL Infra) completes purchase of 17,500 Aircel Towers and 21,000 tenancies at an Enterprise Value of Rs. 80.26bn.