Tower companies, gear vendors bracing for a possible hit due to AGR strain on Airtel, Vodafone Idea

Bharti Infratel, Indus Towers and American Tower Corp (ATC) are bracing for a possible hit on their tower tenancies, because of the financial strain on customers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea from the thousands of crores they need to pay the government.

The impact could be disastrous if Vodafone Idea collapses under the weight of the licence fee dues and penalty that the Indo-UK joint venture is required to pay by January 23, industry executives and analysts said.

Shares of Bharti Infratel, the only listed tower company in India, plunged more than 13% in intraday trade on Friday, before closing 10.1% down at Rs 218.30 on the BSE.