Brookfield got ATC India. Now, its rivals are eyeing Ascend Telecom
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Investment funds KKR & Co., Stonepeak Partners and Macquarie Capital have sounded out merchant bankers to acquire a potential stake in India's No.3 telecom tower firm Ascend Telecom Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd, two people aware of the development said, after losing the race for American Tower Corp.'s India assets to Canada’s Brookfield.
The funds are keen to start negotiations with the tower firm fully owned by US-based Global Infrastructure Partners, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. “They’ve approached bankers and have asked them guage the interest of the promoters. Early-stage discussions are expected to take place in the coming weeks or months, but a final deal is likely in four to six months," said one of the people directly involved in the discussions, asking not to be named.
A deal may proceed quickly given the funds' keen interest in the Indian tower market, the second person added. The three funds were reportedly among the list of initial suitors for ATC’s India assets. Queries sent to KKR & Co, and Ascend Telecom remained unanswered.
Macquarie Capital and Stonepeak declined to comment. Global Infrastructure Partners said it was not looking to exit Ascend. Also read | Global interest for M&A in Indian telecoms muted: Rothschild The telecom infrastructure space has seen interest from global infrastructure, sovereign and venture funds over the past couple of years.
India has more than 809,000 telecom towers, and industry estimates say the number is growing 7% annually. Telecom service providers Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are strengthening their 5G capacities and deepening broadband penetration beyond urban markets. Freshly funded Vodafone Idea and
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