Bharti Infratel-Indus Towers merger pushed to February 2020

In the absence of requisite approvals from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers have again extended the timeline for closing their merger deal to February 24, 2020. Originally planned for conclusion in October 2019, the merger deal was extended to December 24, 2019 by the two tower companies as they were awaiting some regulatory approvals. The deal needs clearance from DoT, which needs approval from the Ministry of Finance, in view of an international arbitration of an old case when Vodafone bought Hutchison’s stake in Indian telecom arm in an $11 billion deal. Faced by unexpected delays, the tower companies have stated that each party will have the right to terminate the deal in the next two months.