MUMBAI, India -- The Board of Directors of Reliance Communications Limited today approved a scheme for the transfer of the existing wireless towers (CDMA and GSM) and related infrastructure of the Company, to a 100% subsidiary, subject to necessary approvals.
Commenting on the development, Anil D. Ambani, Chairman, said, "This is the first of a series of initiatives we will be taking to remain asset-light, and enhance our competitiveness, ultimately leading to unlocking of further value for the benefit of our nearly 2 million shareholders."
The Board noted that the scheme will result in further enhancing shareholder value, and provide enhanced operational and financial flexibility for RCOM.
The Board also decided that, henceforth, all new towers and related infrastructure will be set up by the Tower Company (TowerCo), with independent financing, thereby reducing capex requirements and leveraging on RCOM's own Balance Sheet.
The Board took into consideration inter alia the following factors, while approving the scheme:
Accelerating wireless subscriber growth in India
Increasing geographic coverage, particularly in less dense regions, creating the need for setting up substantial new towers infrastructure
Increasing network capacity requirements to sustain additional users and higher Minutes of Use (MOU)
The multi-operator market in India, creating opportunities for tower sharing and co-location, with up to 6 tenants per tower
Trend towards low ARPUs, creating the need for the most efficient capital investment and financing structure
The international benchmark of independent Tower Operating Companies, enjoying multi-billion dollar valuations
Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCom)