Reliance Communications Signs Non-binding Pact to Sell Mobile Towers

Reliance has signed the pact to sell its mobile phone masts business to a consortium led by buyout firm TPG Capital Management LP.

A man opens the shutter of a shop painted with an advertisement of Reliance Communications in Mumbai. | File/Reuters

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications Ltd , India's fourth-biggest wireless telecommunications carrier, has signed a non-binding pact to sell its mobile phone masts business to a consortium led by buyout firm TPG Capital Management LP.

Financial details of the proposed deal were not disclosed.

Both sides have entered into an exclusivity agreement that will be valid until Jan. 15, and the deal will be subject to final due diligence and regulatory approvals, among other things, said the company in a statement.

There is no certainty that a deal will be reached, the company added.

Under the deal terms, TPG and Tillman Global Holdings LLC, a U.S.-based firm that invests in telecoms and energy infrastructure businesses, will buy the new arm that will be created with the transfer of Reliance Communications' towers and related assets.

Reliance Communications plans to utilise the proceeds of the planned deal to reduce its debt.