State-owned Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL), which holds a 15% stake in Bharti Hexacom, is working with the latter on a fresh proposal to sell its tower assets and has also pitched for an open tender process to ensure fair participation from all eligible tower infrastructure firms, sources familiar with the development told Moneycontrol.
The new process will follow the guidelines issued by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
“TCIL was not kept in the loop for sale of Hexacom towers to Indus Towers, hence it objected and intervened in the deal. It asked Bharti Hexacom to start a fresh process that meets its requirements as a public sector undertaking. Both are working together for an open tender process,” a source privy to the discussions said.
Bharti Hexacom, a Bharti Airtel subsidiary, had announced on April 10 that it was putting on hold its plan to sell 3,400 telecom towers to Indus Towers for Rs 1,134 crore, following TCIL’s intervention. Indus Towers also informed stock exchanges that the deal had been paused.
The sale was part of a broader agreement finalised in February under which Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom planned to transfer a total of 16,100 telecom towers to Indus Towers through a slump sale.
Bharti Airtel has since completed the sale of 12,700 towers valued at Rs 2,174.6 crore, while Hexacom’s portion of the deal remains suspended.
"We remain convinced about the business logic and merits of the proposal which also received endorsement and strong support from our shareholders and proxy agencies. However, in line with transparency and robust corporate governance we have agreed to put the current proposal in abeyance and initiate a fresh process as required by our significant minority shareholder TCIL," a Bharti Hexacom spokesperson said in a statement.
Industry analysts noted that public sector undertakings (PSUs) like TCIL must exercise due diligence when divesting assets. This typically involves asset valuation, issuing tenders, and obtaining approvals through DIPAM.
Established in 1978, TCIL is a government-owned engineering and consultancy firm specialising in telecommunications and IT solutions. Its expertise spans switching, transmission, cellular services, rural telecom, optical fiber networks, and more.
In 1995, the Indian government, through TCIL, partnered with Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company and Shyam Telecom Ltd to launch Hexacom India for mobile services in Rajasthan and the Northeast. The venture was renamed Bharti Hexacom in 2004 after Bharti Airtel acquired a majority stake.
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