Delay in govt nod to postpone Bharti Infra-Indus Towers merger

Telecom infrastructure firm Bharti Infratel is going to miss the October 24 deadline to complete the merger of mobile tower giant Indus Towers with it due to a delay in government permission, according to a regulatory filing. The company has set up a panel to assess the impact of the delay in the merger and recommend action to be taken in the best interest of the firm and its shareholders.

“The scheme (merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers) contemplated the closing by October 24, 2019 (long stop date), by which time a large number of processes and conditions precedent were required to be completed…The board noted that all the requisite government approvals have not been received till date and conditions precedent and processes not completed. It therefore concluded that it is not possible to complete the scheme by the long stop date,” the filing said.