savramesh 37 Report post Posted March 18, 2009 The Hindu Wednesday, Mar 18, 2009 NEW DELHI: American Tower Corporation on Tuesday said it would acquire XCEL Telecom Private Ltd., an Indian telecom infrastructure firm that owns and operates around 1,700 wireless communications tower sites. ATC’s Mauritius subsidiary — American Tower Mauritius — has entered into a definitive agreement with Horse-Shoe Capital, Mauritius (an affiliate of Q Investments, U.S.), under which it will acquire XCEL, a joint statement by both companies said. The transaction details remain undisclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2009, subject to customary closing conditions and the completion of customary regulatory and other approvals, the statement added. “India is one of the fastest growing telecom markets, with the tower market seeing record growth. This deal will strengthen our base in India and give us access to a new set of clients and geographies where XCEL has established connections,” said ATC Executive Vice-President and President for Asia Amit Sharma. According to XCEL Telecom Director Pranav Parikh: “This represents a significant milestone for XCEL and is beneficial to all its stakeholders. XCEL will benefit from ATC’s commitment and expertise in managing and growing such businesses globally.” When combined with ATCs operations in India, the acquisition would create an independent tower company with a combined portfolio of about 2,000 tower sites in 15 telecom circles and a team of 240 employees. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites