Airtel enters definitive agreement to acquire Tikona Digital for Rs 1,600 crore
Bharti Airtel has entered into a definitive agreement with Tikona Digital for acquiring its wireless broadband business in five circles, adding momentum to merger and acquisitions in the telecom sector which recently saw two mammoths - Idea and Vodafone - teaming up to take on competition.
The country's leading telecom services provider said Thursday 4G business of Tikona in four circles of Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Himachal Pradesh will be acquired by Airtel, while its subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Limited will acquire the business in Rajasthan.
"We believe that combining our capacities in TD-LTE and FD-LTE will further bolster our network, and help us provide unmatched high-speed wireless broadband experience to our customers," Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel, said.
"Bharti Airtel shall acquire the 4G busienss of Tikona " for "approximately Rs 1,600 crore for the transaction" , the company said in a regulatory filing.
"We remain committed to our vision of leading India's digital revolution by offering world-class and affordable telecom services through a robust spectrum portfolio spread across multiple bands," Vittal added.
Airtel plans to roll-out high speed 4G services on the newly acquired spectrum in the five circles immediately after the closure of the transaction.
With this acquisition, Airtel will become the second company, after Reliance Jio, in the country to have pan-India presence in 2300 Mhz band -- which has second largest ecosystem of 4G devices.
Post-acquisition, the combined spectrum holding of Airtel in these five circles will be within the spectrum caps prescribed by the Government. Airtel will have 30 MHz in the 2300 MHz band in 13 circles giving it tremendous advantage to handle the surging data demand.
The country's leading telecom services provider said Thursday 4G business of Tikona in four circles of Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Himachal Pradesh will be acquired by Airtel, while its subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Limited will acquire the business in Rajasthan.
"We believe that combining our capacities in TD-LTE and FD-LTE will further bolster our network, and help us provide unmatched high-speed wireless broadband experience to our customers," Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel, said.
"Bharti Airtel shall acquire the 4G busienss of Tikona " for "approximately Rs 1,600 crore for the transaction" , the company said in a regulatory filing.
"We remain committed to our vision of leading India's digital revolution by offering world-class and affordable telecom services through a robust spectrum portfolio spread across multiple bands," Vittal added.
Airtel plans to roll-out high speed 4G services on the newly acquired spectrum in the five circles immediately after the closure of the transaction.
With this acquisition, Airtel will become the second company, after Reliance Jio, in the country to have pan-India presence in 2300 Mhz band -- which has second largest ecosystem of 4G devices.
Post-acquisition, the combined spectrum holding of Airtel in these five circles will be within the spectrum caps prescribed by the Government. Airtel will have 30 MHz in the 2300 MHz band in 13 circles giving it tremendous advantage to handle the surging data demand.
