Twist in mega $2 billion plus ATC India sale: Canada’s Brookfield now lead suitor

Jan 5, 2024 | News

Since launching operations in India in 2007, ATC India’s portfolio has expanded to approximately 75,000 towers. The firm has a national presence and services all major telecom service providers in the country.

Top Canadian investor Brookfield Asset Management is in the final stages of negotiations to acquire a 100 percent stake in ATC India, a unit of the US-based telecom tower major American Towers Corporation ( ATC), multiple industry sources told Moneycontrol.

Media reports earlier in the year had named US private equity firm I Squared Capital as a front-runner to acquire ATC’s India unit and the new development represents a twist in the ongoing strategic review process for the India tower company.

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If the discussions fructify into an eventual transaction, it would be the second big-bang transaction in this segment for Brookfield, following its $3.66 billion buyout of Reliance Jio’s telecom tower assets in 2019. Brookfield has a telecom tower InvIT (infrastructure investment trust) Data Infrastructure Trust.

“Brookfield has edged ahead of other suitors and is now in the pole position to pick up a controlling stake in the Indian unit of ATC. The deal is likely to be signed soon and an official announcement can be expected shortly,” said one of the persons familiar with the discussions.

The enterprise value of this proposed buyout by Brookfield is expected to be upwards of $2 billion, said a second person.

Source: MoneyControl

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