A unit of Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management said it is evaluating a number of telecom tower portfolios in India to scale its presence after talks to acquire over 40,000 towers from debt-laden Reliance Communications hit a snag.
The deal with Brookfield hinged on Reliance Communications or RCom merging its mobile operations with rival Aircel but the merger was called off last month due to regulatory delays and legal uncertainties.
According to media reports, Brookfield said it is still pursuing RCom and other opportunities in this sector to scale its presence in India. RCom, led by billionaire Anil Ambani, had 443 billion Indian rupees ($6.86 billion) of net debt as of March making it the most leveraged among listed Indian telecom companies.
The debt load has spooked investors, sending RCom’s shares tumbling this year amid worries about whether it could pay back creditors at a time when profits across the sector are slumping due to stiff competition.
To shed debt, telecom companies are increasingly looking to spin off their mobile mast businesses while focusing on core mobile services.
