New Delhi: Mobile tower firm Bharti Infratel on Monday said it will explore options to acquire country's largest telecom infrastructure firm Indus Towers.
"The board of directors of Bharti Infratel Limited, in their meeting held on October 30, 2017, has decided to explore and evaluate acquisition of stake in one or more tranches in Indus Towers Limited with the aim of making it a subsidiary or wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Infratel Limited," the mobile tower firm said.
Indus Towers, a joint venture between Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, has portfolio of around 1.23 lakh mobile towers across 15 states in the country. Bharti Infratel has consolidated portfolio of over 90,000 telecom towers, which includes over 39,000 of its own towers and the balance from its 42 per cent equity interest in Indus Towers.
The three leading wireless telecommunications service providers in India by revenue - Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular - are the largest customers of Bharti Infratel and for Indus Towers too.
Meanwhile, Bharti Infratel on Monday reported a 17.57 per cent drop in consolidated net profit to about Rs 638 crore for the second quarter ended September 30. The net profit stood at about Rs 774 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
The revenue during July-September quarter jumped nearly 11 per cent to Rs 3,648 crore from Rs 3,292 crore in the year- ago period, according to a company statement.
Bharti Infratel Chairman Akhil Gupta said the company and Indus Towers (where Bharti Infratel owns 42 per cent stake) are "well positioned" to grab their fair share of market and "create sustainable value for all stakeholders".
"Indian telecom has embraced the data centric model and is emerging as the showcase of digital technology with operators rolling out 4G networks and India planning a leadership role on upcoming 5G technology and associated applications," Gupta said.
At the same time, leading operators have outlined plans to infuse more investments in strengthening the digital infrastructure at the recently-concluded India Mobile Congress, he pointed out.