Vodafone India and Idea Cellular select investment banks to finalise sale of tower assets

Vodafone India and Idea Cellular have reportedly given formal mandates to investment banks, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, to finalise buyers for the sale of their tower assets. While Vodafone India has hired Morgan Stanley to seek a buyer for around 11,000 of its tower assets, Idea Cellular has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to seek a buyer for around 9,900 of its captive towers. Further, Vodafone India has also asked Morgan Stanley to search for a potential buyer for its 42 per cent stake in Indus Towers. The two operators reportedly want to finalise the sale of their tower assets before the merger of their telecom operations. To this end, the operators have already been in talks with potential buyers, including Canada’s Brookfield and the American Tower Corporation, for the sale of their tower assets.