American Tower is reportedly preparing to spend up to $1 billion to buy 51% of India’s Viom, a tower company controlled by Tata Teleservices. According to reports, American Tower wants to merge Viom’s estimated 42,000 towers with the 12,000 towers it already owns in India.
This news follows two reports last week of major international purchases by American Tower. The company is spending $1 billion to buy 4,800 towers in Nigeria, adding more African towers to its current holdings in Ghana, South Africa and Uganda. American Tower is also buying more than 6,400 towers from Telecom Italia’s TIM Cellular for roughly $1.2 billion.
American Tower has reportedly been in talks with Viom’s owners since last year. India’s wireless market is recovering after the country’s supreme court canceled spectrum licenses due to allotment irregularities. Last February, India held a successful auction and another auction is planned for this coming February.
Together, American Tower’s recently announced acquisitions will amount to as much as $3.2 billion, if the Viom purchase happens. The tower giant already has almost $13 billion in long-term liabilities on its balance sheet, and that number is likely to increase with the company’s planned international purchases.
The Mobile Minute is sponsored by Juniper Networks.
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