Vodafone, Airtel in talks with KKR for stake sale in tower venture

Vodafone Group Plc and Bharti Airtel are in talks with a consortium led by private equity (PE) firm KKR to reduce their stakes by more than half in the company that will be created by the merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers. According to industry sources, Airtel and Vodafone are planning to reduce their stakes to around 13 per cent each in the merged entity, which is being valued at $12 billion-$13 billion. This will allow the two companies to exercise certain rights such as veto powers over signing and terminating contracts with clients, among others. Separately, Providence Equity Partners and Vodafone Idea are likely to sell their stakes in Indus Towers for approximately Rs 20 billion and Rs 55 billion, respectively, before the tower company merges with Bharti Infratel.