Deals

Bharti Unit's Merger With Indus to Birth $14.6 Billion Giant

Transaction will create largest tower operator outside China
Wireless facilities looking for scale amid services price war

A Bharti Airtel store in Mumbai. — A Bharti Airtel store in Mumbai.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

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By Bhuma Shrivastava and George Smith Alexander

April 25, 2018 at 2:58 AM UTC

Updated on

April 25, 2018 at 10:35 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Bharti Airtel Ltd. agreed to merge a unit with closely held Indus Towers Ltd. in a deal that creates a $14.6 billion telecom tower operator that would be the largest outside China.

The combination with Bharti Infratel Ltd. creates an entity controlling more than 163,000 towers across India, Airtel said in a statement Wednesday. Infratel said it agreed to pay 1,565 of its own shares for each Indus Tower share. In a separate filing, Airtel said it will “engage with potential investors for evaluating a strategic stake sale” in the new entity.