Govt approves merger of Bharti Infratel, Indus Towers: Sources

By Prasoon Srivastava

New Delhi, Feb 21 () The Department of Telecom (DoT) on Friday approved the merger of the country's largest mobile tower company Indus Towers with Bharti Infratel, according to official sources.

The combination of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers will create a pan-India tower company with over 163,000 towers, operating across all 22 telecom service areas. The combined entity will be the largest tower company in the world outside China.

"DoT has approved merger of Indus Towers with Bharti Infratel," an official source told .

Bharti Infratel and Vodafone hold 42 per cent stake each in Indus. Vodafone Idea holds 11.15 per cent stake in the mobile tower firm.

As per the plans, the combined company, which would fully own the respective businesses of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers, would change its name to Indus Towers Ltd and will continue to be listed on Indian stock exchanges.

The timely completion of the tower deal is critical for the companies, as it would allow Bharti and Vodafone Idea in offloading stake and raising funds. PRS ABMABM