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Thomas K Thomas

New Delhi, March 21 Telecom infrastructure service provider GTL Ltd has dropped out of the race for acquiring a stake in Tata Teleservices’ tower company. Tatas are looking to offload 26-49 per cent stake in its tower company, Tata Telecom Infrastructure Ltd, in the next two months.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Prakash Ranjalkar, Chief Operating Officer, said, “We are not interested in being a minority shareholder in any venture. Since Tatas are willing to divest only a maximum of 49 per cent stake, we have decided to pull out this time. We may look at it again in future if a second round of dilution happens.”

Tata sources said that this will not impact its plans since there are at least 15 other bidders who have expressed interest in picking up a stake in the tower company.

GTL is, however, eyeing other acquisitions in the tower infrastructure and services segment. “We are expecting consolidation to happen in this sector, because there are a number of small players. Going forward, as competition gets tougher, some of these companies will find it tough to sustain. We are always on the lookout for an opportunity,” Mr Ranjalkar said.

GTL is rolling out 25,000 towers in three years in a bid to increase its footprint, with an investment plan of $450-600 million annually. The company has hived off its IT services business in a bid to focus on the telecom segment.

GTL is also looking to expand its operations in more countries. “There are a number of markets that are opening up in developing countries of Africa and West Asia. GTL wants to be present in these markets to offer our expertise in network services, which we developed from our business in India. We are looking at both organic and inorganic routes to enter these countries,” said Mr Deven Buch, Senior Vice-President & Head Sales, International Network Services.

GTL has recently partnered with equipment manufacturer Ericsson to offer managed services to operators in the UK.

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GTL drops out of race for stake in Tata tower firm

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