Reliance Jio Infocomm, the fastest growing mobile operator in the world and which is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, agreed to acquire specified assets of Reliance Communications Limited and its affiliates.
The sale includes assets under four categories – Towers, Optic Fiber Cable Network, Spectrum and Media Convergence Nodes, specifically:
- 122.4 MHz of 4G Spectrum in the 800/900/1800/2100 MHz bands
- Over 43,000 towers, amongst the top 3 independent tower holdings in India
- ~ 1,78,000 RKM of fiber with pan India footprint
- 248 Media Convergence Nodes, covering ~5 Million sqft used for hosting telecom infrastructure
The deal was valued at US$$3.77 billion, according to media reports. Reliance Communications said it will use the proceeds for debt repayment and that it retains its other businesses including its enterprise networking practice, its data centers, and its subsea cable network.
Reliance Jio said the assets are strategic in nature and are expected to contribute significantly to the largescale roll-out of wireless and Fiber to Home and Enterprise services in India.
Reliance Jio was the winning bidder in a sale mandated by the lenders of Reliance Communications. The sale was managed by SBI Capital Markets Limited. The acquisition is subject to receipt of requisite approvals from Governmental and regulatory authorities, consents from all lenders, release of all encumbrances on the said assets and other conditions precedent.