Bharti Infratel, Indus have the right to end proposed merger: Akhil Gupta

Bharti Infratel, currently owned 53.5% by Bharti Airtel, owns and operates over 40,000 towers

Bharti Infratel on Friday said the company and Indus Towers, which had extended their merger deadline to June 24, were well within their rights to terminate the contract if the need arises.
 

In a post-earnings conference call, Akhil Gupta, chairman, Bharti Infratel, said: “The original date for the merger with Indus Towers was October 2019, which got pushed back several times and the new date is June 24, 2020. Each party has the right to terminate the proposed merger.”
 

Capital markets services firm CLSA said the review of Infratel’s merger terms with Indus would also be a positive.

Bharti Infratel, in which Bharti Airtel has 53.5 per cent stake, owns and operates over 40,000 towers. It holds 42 per cent in Indus Towers, which is a tri-partite joint venture (JV) between Bharti Infratel, Vodafone, and Vodafone Idea in the ratio 42:42:11.
 

Bharti Infratel on Thursday posted 6.89 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 649.50 crore for the quarter ended March 31. It had reported a net profit of Rs 607.60 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The company had reported Rs 608-crore profit in the same period a year ago. The telecom tower company recorded consolidated revenue of Rs 3,624 crore during the quarter.
 

It had registered revenue of Rs 3,600 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2018-19.
 

 

Voda Idea to bounce back despite stress: Infratel
 

Bharti Infratel on Friday said it believeed Vodafone Idea would bounce back, and the entity “will be around” despite the stress faced by the operator on account of statutory dues. In an earnings call, Akhil Gupta, chairman of Bharti Infratel, said the company believes in returning surplus to shareholders be it by way of dividend or buyback, and while it has used the dividend route, the firm is open to considering buyback, in case there is any scope. PTI