In what would become India’s largest telecom merger, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular is pushing for individual tower sale at the earliest. The two telecom majors, according to Economic Times news report, have mandated Morgan Stanley and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch to finalize buyers for their towers.
Vodafone India has 11,000 odd towers in India, while Idea has 9,900 captive towers. The merger will likely be completed by 2018. Once done, Vodafone-Idea would become the biggest telecom company in India, while the current market leader Bharti Airtel will be pushed back.
The ET report also says that Vodafone has asked Morgan Stanley to figure out potential buyers for its 42% stake in Indus Towers. This tower company is a three-way joint venture between Vodafone, Bharti Infratel and Idea. Earlier Vodafone UK had kept Indus Towers outside the proposed Vodafone India-Idea merger.
