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Infratel-Indus mega tower merger unlikely to hit jobs: Bharti official

New Delhi: The merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers to create a $14.6 billion firm with world's second-largest number of mobile masts -- is not expected to lead to any job loss given the disparate and largely non-overlapping nature of operations of both companies, a senior Bharti official said.
There will be an overlap at the corporate level for less than 100 positions but that too will be accommodated in anticipation of business growth and in new projects such as smart cities, said the official familiar with the blockbuster deal struck last month.
The merged entity will have in its fold more than 163,000 towers across India - largest after China Tower. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone will jointly control the combined firm.
The transaction, subject to regulatory and other approvals, including from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Department of Telecom (FDI approval), is expected to close before the end of the fiscal year.
The merged entity, which will be called Indus Towers Ltd, will remain listed. Bharti Airtel, which currently owns 53.5 per cent in Bharti Infratel, will get 33.8 per cent to 37.2 per cent stake in the combined entity. Its shareholding is dependent upon what Aditya Birla Group's Idea and Providence do with their minority shareholding in Indus Tower.
Similarly, Vodafone India will get between 26.7 per cent and 29.4 per cent of the Indus-Bharti Infratel combine.
Vodafone has 42 per cent stake in Indus Tower. Bharti Infratel too has an equivalent stake while the remaining is with Aditya Birla's Idea (11.15 per cent) and Providence (4.85 per cent).
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