Bharti to divest majority share in Tower company in 3 years

Bharti Airtel will hold only minority stake in its tower company, Bharti Infratel Ltd., in the next three years, an official familiar with the company's plans told NewsWire18 today. "Bharti is looking to have only a minority strategic stake in this company in three years," the person said. The company is awaiting court approval to demerge its tower business into a separate company.

Bharti Infratel had around 45,000 towers as on Jun 30, and plans to raise it to 80,000 by the end of the current financial year to March. Bharti's India Calling Card, launched in the U.S. last year, has notched up 100,000 users, the official said. This year, it plans to roll out these calling cards in other countries with significant non-resident Indian population and fewer regulations.

The company has started amortising its lifetime products over 24 months from 18 months earlier. "This has been done due to lower churn. However, the revenue will take a hit of Rs 70 crores rupees per quarter due to this," the official said. The official said Bharti Airtel's capital expenditure is likely to be subdued in the current quarter to Sep 30, though it is likely to stick to its estimated expenditure of $ 3.5 bln for the entire year.