1.

Bharti-Airtel acquires Videocon (Telecom Operators)

Dated 17th March 2016

Bharti Airtel acquires Videocon's spectrum in six

circles for Rs 4,428 crore
Bharti to get access to Videocon's six 1800 MHz
circles in Bihar, Haryana, MP, UP (East), UP (West)
and Gujarat
Bharti Airtel today announced that it had entered into a definitive
agreement with Videocon to acquire the rights to use 1800 MHz
spectrum in six circles for Rs 4,428 crore.
The development comes a day after Idea Cellular had called off its
agreement with Videocon. Idea had agreed to pay Rs 3,300 crore
for spectrum in two circles.
The six circles where Bharti gets access to 1800 MHz spectrum are
Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, UP (East), UP (West) and Gujarat
(Transaction). The spectrum is valid up to December 18, 2032.

Bharti needed the additional spectrum in Haryana and Bihar circles.

The acquisition will give Bharti the ability to offer high-quality data
services. The company has strongest spectrum holdings in the
industry today other than Reliance Jio. It has 18% spectrum of the
total airwaves available in the country.
In the sub-1 gigahertz band, it holds 15% of the total, while it holds
17% in the 1,800 MHz band. In the 2100/2300 MHz band, Bharti holds
21%, but these bands are not as efficient for data propagation as the
lower bands are. Vodafone launched its 4G services on 1800 MHz
band in several circles.
Late last year, Idea Cellular stunned the industry by agreeing to pay
Rs 3,310 crore to Videocon Telecommunications for the right to use
spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh West
(2x5 MHz contiguous blocks of 1800 MHz in each service area). What
came as a surprise to the industry was the price that Idea has paid
for this spectrum, which was three times the price that Videocon paid
in November 2012 (Rs 1,330 crore).
Idea Cellular now holds 1800 MHz 4G spectrum in 10 telecom circles
which cover 50% of telecom market, but over 60% of Ideas gross

2. ATC VIOM MERGER (infra Companies)

July 2016

Dated 01

Virtual team set to look after ATC-Viom combines

operations, legal merger may take over a year to close
MUMBAI: A virtual team has been set up to run the American
Tower Corp. and Viom Networks combine in India even as the
legal merger of the two telecom tower operators could take over
a year to close, with Ashwani Khillan and Sudhir Prasad
remaining at the helm as joint chief operating officers.
"The top 50 positions have been identified. Work is on to further
assign roles to staff synergistically across both entities," an ATC
spokeswoman said. "Of course, this is a virtual team till such
time as the legal merger is completed."

Khillan has been in ATC for the past year, after resigning as
chief technology officer at Sistema Shyam Teleservices,
which operated the MTS brand. He will control construction,
maintenance and servicing functions of the over 56,000
towers of the two entities, virtually like an operational head.
This is Khillan's second stint at ATC and he will also oversee
expansion, including identifying sites to build towers.
Prasad was second in command to Viom chief executive
officer Syed Safawwho has resigned. Given that the bulk of
the towers are from Viom, he will handle sales, commercial
and internal technology initiatives. He is also entrusted with
the technology, process and cultural amalgamation of Viom
into ATC.

In April, the government cleared Bostonbased ATC's acquisition of

a 51% stake in Viom, valuing the Tata group company at about
`21,000 crore and marking the biggest flow of foreign funds into
the country in a year. Once the legal merger is complete, ATC will
own 51% of Viom and 100% of ATC India. Subsequently, the two
entities will be merged, after which ATC will own 65% of its Indian
unit, Tata Teleservices will have 26% and the rest will be held by
IDFC and Macquarie.

Viom is the bigger entity, with some 42,000 towers, compared

with ATC's 14,000. That's led to some murmurs of discontent
among Viom executives about the senior management structure
being dominated by ATC officials, said a person familiar with the
developments.
Among the top 50 positions, 60% have been assigned to ATC
incumbents. Of the 17 circles proposed by ATC, 12 will be led by
former ATC employees and three of the four regions planned will
be headed by ATC executives.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/virtual-teamset-to-look-after-atc-viom-combines-operations-legal-merger-may-

3. MTS-RCOM merger (Telecom Operator)

18th March 2016

Dates

Sistema Shyam shareholders approve merger with Reliance

Communications
PTI Mar 18, 2016, 08.17PM IST
T
("SSTL shareholders have)
NEW DELHI: Shareholders of telecom operator Sistema Shyam
Teleservices (SSTL), which runs the MTS brand, today approved the
merger of the company with Reliance Communications in a meeting
convened by the Rajasthan High Court.
"SSTL shareholders have approved the merger scheme with RCom at the
meeting today," a source privy to the development told PTI.
When contacted, an SSTL spokesperson said the meeting in Jaipur was
convened by the high court to seek approval of the SSTL shareholders to
merge the company with Reliance Communications.
As per initial indications, members of the company have duly approved
the merger process through voting by way of poll at the meeting and
through e-voting. However, a formal declaration can only be made after
all the ballot votes have been counted," the spokesperson said.
Queried further, the spokesman said the result of the meeting will be
announced on March 21.

Earlier this month, shareholders of RCom too had approved the

merger scheme.
The RCom-SSTL merger deal has already been cleared by the
Competition Commission of India and Sebi. Now, it needs to be
cleared by the Rajasthan High Court and the Bombay High Court.
Once approval from these courts comes by, RCom will approach the
Department of Telecom for final paperwork.
The deal between RCom and SSTL is valued at around USD 690 million
(Rs 4,500 crore) and is expected to close in the second quarter of
2016.
SSTL will hold about 10 per cent stake in the new entity and pay off its
existing debt before completing the deal.
While the two companies did not divulge financial details of the deal,
an industry source said SSTL's equity stake has been valued at USD
290-300 million at current prices.
While SSTL will pay off its existing USD 500 million debt, RCom will
assume the liability to pay the government instalments for SSTL
spectrum amounting to Rs 392 crore per annum for the next 10 years.

"

Russian tycoon Vladimir Evtushenkov-controlled AFK

Sistema currently holds 56.68 per cent stake in SSTL while
the Russian government owns 17.14 per cent. The Shyam
Group has 23.98 per cent and the rest is owned by small
investors.
The deal will make RCom the largest holder of the 800/850
MHz band for wireless 4G services and help it not just
compete with present players but consolidate its position
ahead of commercial launch of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance
Jio.

4. RCOM-Aircel Merger Dated 21st July 2016

RCOM-Aircel merger likely to conclude next week

Thursday, 21 July 2016
The merger between Reliance Communications (RCOM) and Aircel is
likely to conclude next week. The companies had been in exclusive
talks for the same since December 2015.
As per terms of the pact, RCOM will hive off its wireless business
into a separate arm, which will be combined with Maxis-owned
Aircel, with both companies having equal ownership. Aircel and
RCOM will reportedly together infuse Rs 50 billion of equity funding
and transfer debt of Rs 140 billion into the merged entity.
The proposed entity will remain unlisted in the initial years and
operate under a new brand name.
Link :http://www.tele.net.in/news/item/19679-rcom-aircelmerger-likely-to-conclude-next-week

5. Bharti Infratel in talks to acquire Tower Vision India

dated June 09,2016

NEW DELHI: Bharti Infratel, the independent tower company of the Bharti Group, is in talks to
acquire Tower Vision India, a company owned by a group of international financial investors, two
people familiar with the development told ET.

Tower Vision, which has about 8,500 towers with a tenancy ratio of 1.8, is expected to be valued
at about Rs 4,000 crore, including debt of about Rs 1,000 crore," said one of the people. Tower
Vision has an annual turnover of about Rs 1,000 crore with an operating margin of about 25%,
the person said.
Bharti Infratel, the only listed tower company in India, has about 89,000 towers, including
proportionate ownership of these assets in Indus Towers, a joint venture between Bharti Infratel,
Vodafone India and Aditya Birla Telecom.

Given the constraints in putting up new towers, Bharti Infratel is looking at the inorganic route to
ramp up its tower numbers and increase its foothold that would help meet the rising demand of
3G and 4G operators," the second person said.
By 2020, 3G and 4G will become the leading technologies as the smartphone subscriber base is
expected to rise exponentially, the person added.
Tower Vision, based in Gurgaon, did not respond to queries seeking comment on the proposed
deal. Spokespersons of the Bharti Group and ATC declined to comment.
"As a policy, we do not comment on market speculation. Being a responsible corporate, we
always make appropriate disclosures to the stock exchanges and our stakeholders as and when
required," the Bharti spokesperson said.
providing it with about $300 million, including debt financing.
Other investors are Israel-based Fort Group, a private holding and investment company with
global expertise in developing cellular operations and real estate development, and Mivtach
Shamir Real Estate, also from Israel.
With a tenancy ratio of about 2.1, Bharti Infratel's market capitalisation of over Rs 71,000 crore is

Quadrangle Capital Partners, a New York-based firm, led a consortium of companies that invested in
Tower Vision in 2010,
With opposition from residents to putting up new towers in populated areas, existing base stations
are vital for expansion and strengthening the company's position.
Some consolidation has been taking place in India's telecom tower business.
The government approved American Tower Corporation's acquisition of a 51% stake in Viom
Networks in April. ATC, which unsuccessfully bid for Tower Vision in 2013, has also shown interest in
this transaction, another person familiar with development said.