S&R Associates secures CCI approval for Brookfield’s acquisition of a 100% equity stake in ATC India, making it the largest telecom tower operator in India. The $2 billion deal marks ATC’s exit after 17 years, covering 78,000 sites.
American Tower Corporation (ATC), a leading global owner, operator, and developer of multitenant communications real estate, announced that Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management will acquire 100% of the equity stakes in ATC India’s telecom infrastructure. This acquisition will make Brookfield the largest operator of telecom towers in India. With this deal, ATC is set to exit the Indian market after nearly 17 years, leaving behind a footprint of approximately 78,000 sites across the country.
When the transaction was initially announced, ATC disclosed that the total cash proceeds include an enterprise value for ATC India’s operations of approximately $2.0 billion, plus a ticking fee that accrues from October 1, 2023, until the deal’s closing. The proceeds are expected to cover the repayment of existing intercompany debt and the repayment or assumption of the existing India term loan by Brookfield.
Additionally, ATC will retain the full economic benefit associated with optionally converted debentures (OCDs) issued by Vodafone Idea and will receive future payments related to existing ATC India receivables. The transaction proceeds are anticipated to be used to repay ATC’s existing indebtedness.
Citi is serving as the lead financial advisor, while CDX Advisors is also advising ATC in this proposed transaction. Recently, India’s antitrust authority, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), approved the transaction, allowing the deal to move forward.
India’s leading law firms, Talwar Thakore & Associates (TT&A) and S&R Associates, are serving as principal legal advisors for ATC and the infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) sponsored by an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management.
The S&R team, which secured the CCI nod, was led by partners Rajat Sethi, Sudip Mahapatra, and Raya Hazarika, with Partner Pratichi Mishra advising on InvIT-related matters, and Partner Sumit Bansal overseeing the tax components of the deal. The competition team, led by Simran Dhar and Akshat Kulshrestha, played a key role in obtaining the CCI approval.
TT&A’s team was led by Joint Managing Partner Gautam Saha, with Corporate Partners Swati Chauhan and Harshit Chandra, and Competition Partner Sonam Mathur.
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