Hong Kong, March 31, 2008 -- AIF Capital, one of the largest Asia-based independent private equity firms, is pleased to announce that AIF Capital Asia III, L.P. and its affiliates have invested US$100 million in Bharti Infratel Limited.
Bharti Infratel operates as an independent, shared wireless telecom network provider. It is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited (“Airtel”), India’s leading integrated telecom services provider with an aggregate of over 55 million customers as of end of November 2007.
Bharti Infratel owns close to 20,000 sites and holds approximately 42% stake in Indus Towers, the recently announced joint venture with Vodafone and Idea Cellular, two of the other largest GSM mobile operators in India. With a starting base of over 70,000 sites, Indus Towers is the world’s largest independent tower company. Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers will provide passive infrastructure services to all wireless telecom operators in India on a non-discriminatory basis. While Indus Towers will operate exclusively in 16 out of 23 telecom license circles in India, Bharti Infratel will operate in the remaining 7 telecom circles.
Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers are well positioned to benefit from India’s fast-growing wireless telecom market. The mobile subscriber base in India is expected to grow from around 210 million in December 2007 to more than 500 million in the next few years. The Indian mobile telecom market covers extensive geography and is highly competitive with multiple operators in each circle. This is ideally suited to telecom tower infrastructure sharing and makes the economics of the business compelling. The company’s association with Airtel ensures the best management talent and exemplary levels of corporate governance.
“We are pleased to become a financial partner once again with the Bharti Group in India. AIF Capital was an early investor in Airtel and this investment in Bharti Infratel is another chance to work with Bharti to achieve more success in the telecom industry,” said Peter Amour, AIF Capital’s chief executive officer. “The investment is also in line with our focus on India.”