Brookfield, Reliance inch closer to a towering deal

MUMBAI: Brookfield Asset Management and Reliance Industries (RIL) are expected to sign a term sheet for the proposed sale of Jio’s telecom towers in the next 7-10 days as the refining-to-retail conglomerate steps up efforts to halve its telecom debt.

People close to the situation said that Reliance Jio Infratel Pvt Ltd’s portfolio of 170,000 towers are currently valued at around Rs 36,000 crore ($5 billion approx), of which Rs 25,000 crore is to be funded through equity. Once the build-out phase is completed, it is likely to be levered up further for an enterprise valuation of $7 billion.