New Delhi-based telecommunications company Bharti Airtel Limited sold a 10.3% stake in its tower arm subsidiary Bharti Infratel to private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for $951.6 million.
Bharti Infratel owns over 90,000 telecom towers and the company reported a revenue of $829 million for the financial year ending March 2016. This is the second time KKR is investing in the tower company (it previously did so between 2008 and 2015).
VCCircle reports that the transaction will provide Airtel the much-needed funds to paredown its debt. “This investment…reinforces the positive outlook for the telecom infrastructure sector. The long-term investment horizon of the investors aligns well with the capital needs and business cycles of Bharti Infratel,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti Airtel’s chairman.
