The merger between Bharti Infratel (Infratel) and Indus Towers is likely to be completed within the next 30 days and the combine will become one of the largest telecom infrastructure companies in the world, a top official said on Thursday.

The Board of Directors of Infratel also appointed Bimal Dayal, the current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Indus Towers, as the Managing Director of Infratel to facilitate integration and to ensure continuity. The board has also approved him to be the CEO of the merged entity (Infratel and Indus Towers) by the shareholder groups (Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Plc) with immediate effect.

“In a major development relating to merger of Indus and Infratel, the National Company Law Tribunal has given its approval to the aforesaid merger which has been in process for a long time. The filing with Registrar of Companies post final closing based on agreed closing adjustments is likely to be done within 30 days,” Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel, said.

The company’s consolidated portfolio of over 95,000 telecom towers, which includes over 43,000 of its own towers and the balance from its 42 per cent equity interest in Indus Towers, makes it one of the largest tower infrastructure providers in the country with presence in all 22 telecom circles.

Meanwhile, Infratel reported a consolidated net profit of ₹733 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, down 24 per cent year-on-year (YoY) compared with ₹964 crore in the corresponding period last year.

However, revenue during the quarter rose by 2 per cent to ₹3,695 crore against ₹3,638 crore in the July-September quarter of the previous year.

As of September 30, the company has a total of 97,283 towers (93,421 towers).

“During the quarter, we have witnessed the highest net tower additions in the last eight years and the highest net co-location additions in the last three years. Also, with major regulatory uncertainties behind us, we expect operators to focus on their networks both in expanding the reach and coverage of 4G and introduction of newer technologies in the future, Gupta added.

Shares of Infratel closed at ₹196.05 apiece on the BSE on Thursday, up 1.84 per cent from the previous close.

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