GTL Infra mops up Rs 3,500 cr for tower expansion

GTL Infrastructure (GIL), a subsidiary of telecom network major GTL, has raised around Rs 3,500 crore by way of debt from a slew of investors – both national and international – that will be used for rolling out an additional 17,000 telecom towers in the country. 

This takes the company’s total fund raised for tower rollout to around Rs 7,500 crore (around $1.80 billion). It had raised around Rs 2,200 crore earlier. The company had also raised an additional Rs 1,800 crore by way of equity and quasi-equity offerings such as preferential warrants and foreign currency convertible bonds. 

The Rs 3,500-crore debt was raised from international lenders including Europe’s largest financial development group DEG (a part of KFW Bankengruppe, a company owned by the German government) and Asian Development Bank, Manila (a financial institution that promotes economic and social progress in the Asia-Pacific region), according to sources close to the development.

Financial institutions such as State Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Punjab National Bank were among the Indian lenders that have contributed to the kitty. 

The exact contributions by each financial institution could not be ascertained. When contacted, GIL officials declined to comment. 

The shared passive telecom infrastructure major will use the fund for rolling out an additional 17,000 base transceiver stations (BTS) across the 22 telecom circles in the country. GIL, which at present has a portfolio of over 8,000 towers under various stages of completion, is in the process of rolling out 23,700 towers by the financial year 2011. 

The company already hosts 7 leading telecom operators and one WiMax operator on its towers and is scouting for acquisition both in the country and globally.