American Tower Completes Acquisition of Nearly 9,000 Telecom Towers in India

June 5, 2018

American Tower currently operates around 68,000 towers in the Indian market

American Tower (ATC) has expanded its footprint in India through the completion of the acquisition of Indian carrier Idea’s tower business.

The local subsidiary of ATC has acquired a portfolio of around 9,000 towers in India for 40 billion rupees ($597.2 million). Idea said the portfolio of towers had a tenancy ratio of 1.80x as of September 2017.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently approved the transaction, according to Indian press reports.

The transaction was part of the anticipated merger between Indian carriers Idea and subsidiary Vodafone India, which is expected to create India’s largest telecoms operator with an estimated 430 million subscribers.

After this recent acquisition, ATC now operates some 68,000 towers across India. The company has already acquired Vodafone India’s portfolio of around 10,200 telecommunications towers. “We  closed on our acquisition of the Vodafone tower portfolio in India, at the very end of the quarter, adding over 10,000 sites to our portfolio and further solidifying our position as a leading independent tower operator in the market,” ATC’s EVP and CFO Tom Bartlett said in a previous conference call with investors.

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