Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom to sell 16100 telecom towers to Indus Towers

Bharti Airtel Limited and Bharti Hexacom Limited have finalised a deal to transfer 16,100 telecom towers to subsidiary Indus Towers Limited through a slump sale. Under the deal, Bharti Airtel will sell around 12,700 towers for up to Rs 2,174.6 crore, while Bharti Hexacom will transfer around 3,400 towers for up to Rs 1,134.1 crore. The total value of the transaction is Rs 3,308.7 crore.

The deal is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2025 and will be financed through borrowing. The move is part of Indus Towers’ strategy to increase its market share and create better operational synergies in the telecom infrastructure sector.

What will be the benefit

Both Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom have stressed that the tower transfer will improve the management of tower operations and allow more focus on passive infrastructure. Importantly, the deal does not include sites under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), which supports affordable telecom services in rural and remote areas of India.