Data Infrastructure Trust (DIT), an Infrastructure Investment Trust sponsored by an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management, has signed an agreement with American Tower Corporation to acquire 100 per cent of the equity interests in American Tower’s mobile tower operations in India for Rs 21,000 crore ($2.5 billion).
Total cash proceeds include an enterprise value on the ATC India operations of approximately $2.0 billion, plus a ticking fee that accrues from October 1, 2023, to the date of closing. “Proceeds associated with the enterprise value assume the repayment of existing intercompany debt and the repayment, or assumption, of the existing India term loan, by DIT,” ATC said in a statement.
Furthermore, and considered within the total potential cash proceeds above, American Tower will retain the full economic benefit associated with the optionally converted debentures (OCDs) issued by Vodafone Idea and will be entitled to receive future payments related to existing ATC India receivables. Proceeds from the transaction are expected to be used to repay American Tower’s existing indebtedness, it said.
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“The transaction, which reflects the completion of the previously announced strategic review of American Tower’s operations in India, is subject to customary closing conditions, including government and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second half of 2024,” the company said.
ATC India has around 78,000 mobile tower sites across India. This will be Brookfield’s third acquisition in the Indian telecommunications space. In 2022, Brookfield acquired a portfolio of 5,000 indoor business solution sites and small cell sites, which advances the rollout of 5G and enables telecom operators to extend their coverage capacity in difficult-to-access and dense areas.
Brookfield also has a portfolio of roughly 175,000 towers that were acquired in 2020 from Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited. ATC India will be included in DIT, which includes the existing telecommunications assets. The acquired sites are expected to diversify DIT’s revenues and increase touch points with all mobile network operators in India, it said.
Arpit Agrawal, Managing Director, Head of Infrastructure, India & Middle East, Brookfield, said, “We look forward to expanding and enhancing our existing telecom tower portfolio in India, which enables a broader array of solutions for our customers and partners. Through strategic acquisitions like ATC India, we remain deeply committed to empowering digital connectivity and transforming the telecom infrastructure landscape across the region.”
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American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of nearly 225,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of US data centre facilities.
In India, Brookfield has approximately $25 billion in assets under management across infrastructure, real estate, renewable power & transition and private equity. It is a leading global alternative asset manager with over $850 billion of assets under management.