Brookfield, BCI and GIC Acquire American Tower’s Operations in India
Data Infrastructure Trust (DIT), an Infrastructure Investment Trust backed by Brookfield Asset Management and investor affiliates such as British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and GIC, announced on September 12, the successful acquisition of 100% of American Tower’s operations in India (ATC India). The deal, it said, approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), involves the purchase of approximately 76,000 communication sites for an enterprise value of Rs 182 billion (Rs 18,200 crore).
With this acquisition, it stated the Brookfield-led consortium now boasts a portfolio of 257,000 telecom sites across India. DIT, which already includes Summit Digitel and Crest Digitel, will now combine these assets with ATC India under a newly launched brand, Altius. With this, Altius has become India's largest tower infrastructure company, pipping Indus Towers.
Altius aims to lead the telecom infrastructure market in India, supporting the country's growing connectivity needs with high-quality telecom solutions. The combined portfolio, it said, enhances the ability to provide a wider range of services to telecom companies, ensuring comprehensive coverage across the nation.
Arpit Agrawal, Managing Partner and Head of Infrastructure at Brookfield, noted that the acquisition of ATC India enhances their existing operations and establishes the largest tower network in the country. He expressed satisfaction with continuing to support the Digital India initiative through such significant acquisitions.
Agrawal said, "Our expertise, rooted in our history as an owner and operator of high-quality businesses, is exemplified by our acquisition of ATC India. It complements our existing business and further strengthens our footprint, creating the largest tower portfolio in the country and one of the largest platforms globally. We are pleased to continue to support the Digital India initiative with acquisitions of scale.”
Munish Seth, Group Managing Director at Data Link, highlighted the excitement about entering a new growth phase with improved digital connectivity. He emphasized that the acquisition will diversify Altius’ revenue streams and enhance its ability to meet the evolving needs of the telecom market while creating long-term value for stakeholders.
Seth said, “We are excited to enter the next phase of growth, where our enhanced digital connectivity will play a crucial role in transforming India’s telecom infrastructure. The acquired sites diversify Altius’ revenue streams creating value for our unit holders, while our scale, operational strength, and innovative capabilities position us to meet the evolving needs of the Indian telecom market and create long-term value for all stakeholders.”
Earlier today, BCI issued a press release stating a Brookfield-led consortium has completed the acquisition of the Indian tower business of American Tower Corporation:
- To own the largest tower portfolio in India and is the largest platform globally ex-China with 257,000 telecom sites
- Telecom Infrastructure portfolio will be housed under the new brand name Altius
Data Infrastructure Trust (“DIT”), an Infrastructure Investment Trust sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management (“Brookfield”) along with affiliates of investors including British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and GIC today completed the acquisition of 100% of American Tower’s operations in India (“ATC India”). This transaction, approved by the Competition Commission of India, comprises the buyout of approximately 76,000 communications sites in India for an enterprise value of INR 182 billion (~$2.2 billion). With this acquisition, the Brookfield-led consortium reinforces its commitment to connecting India with an expanded portfolio of 257,000 telecom sites.
DIT currently houses Summit Digitel and Crest Digitel and is managed by its Investment Manager, Data Link, an affiliate of Brookfield. With this acquisition, Summit Digitel, Crest Digitel, and ATC India will be combined under the new brand name: Altius. The new brand embodies the organization’s commitment to developing and managing the highest quality telecom infrastructure that fuels progress and innovation for connecting India. This expanded telecom infrastructure footprint will ensure Altius is well positioned to provide a broader array of solutions to India’s telecom ecosystem.
Commenting on the acquisition, Arpit Agrawal, Managing Partner, Head of Infrastructure, India & Middle East, Brookfield said, “Our expertise, rooted in our history as an owner and operator of high-quality businesses, is exemplified by our acquisition of ATC India. It complements our existing business and further strengthens our footprint, creating the largest tower portfolio in the country and one of the largest platforms globally. We are pleased to continue to support the Digital India initiative with acquisitions of scale.”
Munish Seth, Group Managing Director, Data Link, said, “We are excited to enter the next phase of growth, where our enhanced digital connectivity will play a crucial role in transforming India’s telecom infrastructure. The acquired sites diversify Altius’ revenue streams creating value for our unit holders, while our scale, operational strength, and innovative capabilities position us to meet the evolving needs of the Indian telecom market and create long-term value for all stakeholders.”
This is Brookfield’s third acquisition in the Indian telecommunications space. In 2022, Brookfield acquired a portfolio of 6,300 indoor business solution sites and small cell sites, which advances the rollout of 5G and enables telecom operators to extend their coverage capacity in difficult-to-access and dense areas. Brookfield also has a portfolio of approximately 175,000 towers that were acquired in 2020 from Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited.
In India, Brookfield has approximately $29 billion in assets under management across Infrastructure, Real Estate, Renewable Power & Transition, and Private Equity.
About Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE: BAM, TSX: BAM) is a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $1 trillion of assets under management across renewable power and transition, infrastructure, private equity, real estate, and credit. We invest client capital for the long-term with a focus on real assets and essential service businesses that form the backbone of the global economy. We offer a range of alternative investment products to investors around the world — including public and private pension plans, endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, insurance companies and private wealth investors. We draw on Brookfield’s heritage as an owner and operator to invest for value and generate strong returns for our clients, across economic cycles.
For more information, please visit our website at bam.brookfield.com
About Data Infrastructure Trust
Data Infrastructure Trust (BSE: DATAINFRA) is an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) set up with the objective of undertaking investment activities as an InvIT, under the SEBI InvIT Regulations and is sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management. DIT is managed by its Investment Manager, Data Link, an affiliate of Brookfield. DIT is the world’s largest telecom infrastructure platform (ex-China) and currently owns a portfolio of 257,000 telecom sites under the Altius brand.
About British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada, with C$250.4 billion in gross assets under management as of March 31, 2024. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver, New York, and London, U.K., BCI manages a portfolio of diversified public and private market investments on behalf of its British Columbia public sector clients. BCI’s infrastructure & renewable resources (I&RR) program, valued at approximately C$28.1 billion, invests in tangible long-life assets in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific region, including direct investments in regulated utilities, energy, telecommunications, transportation, timberlands, and agri-businesses. BCI’s I&RR program has a global portfolio with seven active investments in the Asia-Pacific region. The program continues to expand its presence in the region with the addition of this investment in Data Infrastructure Trust.
This is a very big deal where BCI and GIC co-invested alongside Brookfield to acquire American Tower’s operations in India (ATC India), establishing Altius which now becomes India's largest tower infrastructure company.
This deal is all about connectivity in India. Tower assets like hyperscale data centers are all part of the red-hot digital infrastructure space.
Recall, last week I discussed how CPP Investments co-invested alongside Blackstone to acquire Asia Pacific data centre platform AirTrunk from Macquarie Asset Management and PSP Investments in a A$24bn deal. You can read that comment here.
Now we are finding out that Brookfield has acquired ATC India along with BCI and GIC.
This once again underscores how important strategic partnerships are to Canada's large pension funds.
In India, Brookfield has approximately $29 billion in assets under
management across Infrastructure, Real Estate, Renewable Power &
Transition, and Private Equity.
That's just under 3% of its total assets.
Commenting on this deal, Arpit Agrawal, Managing Partner, Head of Infrastructure, India & Middle East, Brookfield (featured at the top of this post) said:
“Our expertise, rooted in our history as an owner and operator of high-quality businesses, is exemplified by our acquisition of ATC India. It complements our existing business and further strengthens our footprint, creating the largest tower portfolio in the country and one of the largest platforms globally. We are pleased to continue to support the Digital India initiative with acquisitions of scale.”
As the Indian economy continues to grow, connectivity will be critical and these tower assets will see their enterprise value rise considerably over the next decade.
The press release states:
[...] comprises the buyout of approximately 76,000 communications sites in India for an enterprise value of INR 182 billion (~$2.2 billion). With this acquisition, the Brookfield-led consortium reinforces its commitment to connecting India with an expanded portfolio of 257,000 telecom sites.
I am assuming Brookfield owns 51% and BCI and GIC split the rest putting just $500 million each on this deal (assumption, don't know the details).
Also worth noting this is Brookfield’s third acquisition in the Indian telecommunications space so it's a space they know well and have a very strong foothold in.
On a related note, Brookfield aims to “double the size of our business in the next five years,” president Connor Teskey said at Brookfield’s 2024 Investor Day. As such, it is expected to outpace growth across the alternatives market over the same period.
Getting to “the next trillion,” Teskey said, will be achieved through a mix of initiatives, including enhancing fundraising channels, scaling product offerings and building and buying new businesses.
With strong strategic partners in Canada and all over the world, I have little doubt that Brookfield will be able to double its assets over the next five years.
Lots of young smart talent there.
Alright, let me wrap it up there.
Below, The GRI Members' Profile is an initiative that aims to bring executives from the Real Estate and Infrastructure Clubs together, in order to indicate interests and promote the networking within the exclusive GRI Club platform.
In this chapter, you will know a little bit more about Arpit Agrawal, Managing Partner, Head of Infrastructure, India & Middle East, Brookfield.
Also, American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of US data center facilities.
Listen to their Q1 earnings call to gain more insights on tower assets all over the world.
Comments
Post a Comment