Tag: Brookfield

Brookfield pips Indus Towers to become India’s largest tower company post ATC deal

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Brookfield Asset Management-sponsored Data Infrastructure Trust (DIT) on Friday announced the signing of a definitive agreement with the US-based American Tower Corporation to acquire 100% equity interests in ATC India. With this, the asset manager will overtake Indus Towers to become India’s largest operator of telecom towers.

The signing between the two parties is happening today, at an enterprise value of ₹16,500 crore ($2 billion approximately).

The all-cash deal, one of the largest telecom infrastructure deals in the country, will be Brookfield’s third telecom acquisition in India over the last four years and marks American Tower’s exit from the country.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of this year, ATC said in an official statement.

Considered within the total potential cash proceeds, ATC will retain the full economic benefit associated with the optionally converted debentures (OCDs) issued by Vodafone Idea and will be entitled to receive future payments related to existing ATC India receivables. The proceeds from the transaction may be used to repay American Tower’s existing indebtedness.

The deal fortifies and enhances the reach and revenues of Brookfield’s DIT, which owns and operates the earlier acquisitions by the INVIT.

The deal includes ATC India’s tower portfolio of approximately 78,000 sites across India. This will be Brookfield’s third acquisition in the Indian telecommunications space. In 2022, it had acquired a portfolio of 5,000 indoor business solution sites and small cell sites, which helped advance the rollout of 5G and enabled telecom operators to extend their coverage ambit in difficult-to-access and dense areas. In 2020, a portfolio of roughly 175,000 towers acquired from Reliance Industrial Investments.

Brookfield has a portfolio of 252,000 towers compared to Indus Towers’ portfolio of 204,000 towers. ATC India will add to DIT’s telecommunication assets.

The tower companies are all vying to get business from the country’s top three telecom companies. But while Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries’ Jio have been growing their operations, Vodafone Idea is struggling both operationally and financially.

“The acquired sites are expected to diversify DIT’s revenues and increase touch points with all mobile network operators in India,” said a statement from the Canadian investment giant.

On the transaction rationale, Brookfield said, “It enables a broader array of solutions for our customers and partners…Committed to empowering digital connectivity and transforming telecom infra landscape.”

“We look forward to expanding and enhancing our existing telecom tower portfolio in India, which enables a broader array of solutions for our customers and partners. Through strategic acquisitions like ATC India, we remain deeply committed to empowering digital connectivity and transforming the telecom infrastructure landscape across the region,” said Arpit Agrawal, Managing Director, Head of Infrastructure, India & Middle East, at Brookfield.

In India, Brookfield has approximately $25 billion in assets under management across infrastructure, real estate, renewable power and transition and private equity. Global assets under management at around $850 billion.

Data Infrastructure reported revenues of ₹11,100 crore ($1.33 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 2023, compared to Indus Towers’ ₹28,380 crore.

(With inputs from Nisha Poddar)

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Rajasthan | Hindustan Lever-Brookfield to set up 45-MW solar park in line with net zero goals

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Friday (December 1) said the company has partnered with Brookfield to set up a solar energy park with 45 MW capacity in Rajasthan.

The project will be developed at the site of Brookfield’s solar park, being undertaken as a part of the Brookfield Global Transition Fund, according to a stock exchange filing.

HUL’s board of directors has sanctioned an equity investment of up to 27.73% in Transition Sustainable Energy Services One Private Ltd, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by Brookfield under the government’s Group Captive Open Access Renewable Energy Scheme.

This project aligns with India’s COP26 goal of reaching 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, utilising group captive models for renewable energy procurement.

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HUL is well placed to deliver on Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction in line with the commitment to zero emissions in its operations by 2030. The company is also committed to net zero emissions for all its products — from sourcing to the point of sale — by 2039, the company added.

Rohit Jawa, HUL CEO and MD, said, “Collaboration is key to achieving our net zero commitment. The proposed green energy partnership is a step in the right direction. I am sure this will pave the way for more such transformative partnerships that align with environmental and economic sustainability and will help stakeholders across the value chain.”

Nawal Saini, Managing Director of Renewable Power & Transition, Brookfield, said the company is excited to form this unique partnership wherein it will be supplying green energy at scale to HUL and its suppliers from a single location in Bikaner, which is a part of its larger 550-MW solar park.

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Shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd ended at ₹2,563.25, up by ₹16.55, or 0.65%, on the BSE.

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Brookfield India REIT Q1 net operating income hikes to Rs 245 crore

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Brookfield India Real Estate Trust on Monday reported a 4.5 percent increase in net operating income to Rs 245.3 crore in the June quarter and announced distribution of Rs 164.16 crore to unitholders.

Adjusted net operating income grew 4.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 245.3 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal from Rs 234.6 crore in the year-ago period.

Income from operating lease rentals grew 3.9 percent on-year to Rs 211,3 crore from Rs 203.4 crore in the same period a year ago.

On the operational front, the company did gross leasing of 2,98,000 square feet in the June quarter, which includes 63,000 square feet of new leasing and 2,35,000 square feet of renewals.

Brookfield India Real Estate Trust said it has financial commitment in place for the acquisition of two large commercial assets, totalling 6.5 million square feet, in an equal partnership with GIC, from Brookfield Asset Management‘s private real estate funds.

Recently, the company raised Rs 2,305.4 crore through the QIP (Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) and has proposed preferential allotment of Rs 400 crore to the sponsor group as well as the proposed issuance of up to Rs 750 crore of commercial paper.

The acquisitions of Downtown Powai, Mumbai and Candor TechSpace (G1) Gurugram will add significant scale and diversification to its portfolio, the company said, adding that the transaction is on track to close in the second quarter of this fiscal.

Brookfield India Real Estate Trust has five office parks in Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, and Kolkata. Its portfolio consists of 18.7 million square feet comprising 14.3 million square feet of completed area, 0.6 million square feet of under construction and 3.9 million square feet of future development potential.

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Brookfield looks to sell up to 10% stake in Data Infrastructure Trust, OFS launched

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Asset manager Brookfield has launched an Offer for Sale to sell a 10 percent stake in Data Infrastructure Trust, of which they are the sponsor.

The floor price for the same has been set at Rs 155 per unit. The OFS will be open only for today’s trading session.

Base size of the OFS is worth Rs 2,824 crore along with a greenshoe option of Rs 1,209 crore, taking the overall size of the OFS to Rs 4,033 crore.

Data Infrastructure Trust was set up by Reliance Industrial Investments & Holdings Ltd. in January 2019 as a private listed InvIT. In August 2020, BIF IV Jarvis India Pte. Ltd. – an entity backed by Brookfield became the sponsor to the InvIT by subscribing to 89.79 percent of the units post approval from the Department of Telecom.

Currently, Brookfield owns 88 percent of the units in the InvIT, while the remaining are held by the Government of Singapore, British Columbia Investments and other investors.

The bid lot for the Offer for Sale is of 2 lakh units or worth Rs 3.1 crore and in multiples thereof.

A private listed InvIT means an InvIT which has issued units in terms of Regulation 14 (2) of the InvIT regulation. Its an InvIT which has issued units in terms of Chapter VIA of the InvIT regulations.

Brookfield has declined to comment on the same.

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Brookfield weighing stake sale in Indian tower business, sources say

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is considering the sale of a minority stake in its telecommunications tower business in India, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Canadian investment firm is working with an adviser to sell a stake of more than 10 percent in the infrastructure investment trust that holds Summit DigiTel, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. A deal would satisfy regulatory requirements around the so-called InvIT structure, the people added.

Investors including pension funds have shown preliminary interest in acquiring the stake, as they seek stable returns and a chance to increase their exposure to the South Asian economy, the people said.

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Brookfield and its institutional partners completed their acquisition of the telecom tower unit of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. for about $3.4 billion in 2020.

Deliberations are preliminary and Brookfield may decide against pursuing a sale, the people said. A representative for Brookfield declined to comment.

Summit DigiTel counts a portfolio of more than 151,000 telecom sites, making it one of India’s biggest digital infrastructure companies, according to its website. Reliance Jio is an anchor tenant of the portfolio under a 30-year agreement. Summit DigiTel is owned by Data Infrastructure Trust, an InvIT sponsored by Brookfield, the website shows.

American Tower Corp. is similarly weighing strategic options for its India business including the sale of an equity stake, the company said in an earnings call in February. The real estate investment trust bought about 20,000 towers in the country for about $1.2 billion in 2017.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Brookfield to buy 51% stake from Bharti Enterprises as part of join venture deal

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bharti Enterprises on Friday announced that the company and Brookfield have entered into a join venture agreement for four high quality properties — Worldmark Aerocity (Delhi), Worldmark 65 and Airtel Center (Gurgaon)
and Pavillion Mall (Ludhiana) — totalling to 3.3 million square feet.

As part of the joint venture, a Brookfield private real estate fund will purchase 51 percent stake from Bharti Enterprises, which will retain a 49 percent stake.

The enterprise value for the transaction is Rs 5,000 crore.

While Brookfield will manage the properties going forward, Bharti will continue with economic interest in the properties.

“We are pleased to have entered into a JV with Brookfield for our four marquee assets in North India. We remain confident on the commercial realty segment as India’s economy offers exciting growth opportunities ahead and
will continue to invest meaningfully to scale up our assets,” said Harjeet Kohli, Group Director, Bharti Enterprises.

Ankur Gupta, Managing Partner, Head of Real Estate – India and Middle East and Country Head – India, Brookfield, said, “We are very pleased with this partnership with Bharti and look forward to furthering the positioning of these premium assets. Today tenants have a heightened appreciation of the positive impact workspaces can have on employee well-being and we see tremendous opportunities for well managed commercial real estate due to this transformation.”

Worldmark Aerocity is one of the leading best-in-class mixed-use properties of 1.43 million sqft in Delhi NCR. Airtel Center is a 7,00,000 sqft corporate facility located in North Gurgaon while Worldmark 65 is another
more than 7,00,000 sqft newly built mixed-use asset in South Gurgaon.

In India, Brookfield owns and operates 47 million sqft of commercial real estate assets in six gateway markets including a large presence in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata.

Bharti Realty will continue to own and operate its remaining commercial assets including approximately 10 million sqft of upcoming development in Delhi Aerocity.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Carlyle likely to be a key contender to buy Blackstone’s stake in Mphasis

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In the largest active transaction on the deal street, sale of mid-tier IT firm Mphasis by PE firm Blackstone, three independent sources with direct knowledge suggest that bulge bracket PE firm Carlyle is likely to be the key contender for a buyout which is worth approximately $3 billion.

Blackstone is running the process for the sale of Mphasis and apart from Carlyle, Brookfield, Bain Capital and CVC have also been on the fray for the buyout deal.

Multiple sources with direct involvement in the deal share with CNBC-TV18 that some bidders may have gone slow on the process due to the large deal size & present equity valuations.

An industry expert with vast deal experience, on condition of anonymity, said, “It is a large deal and only a few can buy a company that size, drawing similarities to the Hexaware deal process. “

It’s a large deal and an astronomical gain proposition for Blackstone which bought the company in 2016 for $1.1 billion. Private equity promoter owns 56 percent stake in the company and the deal will trigger an open offer for the rest of the 26 percent stake from the minority shareholders.

CNBC-TV18 reached out to each of the parties involved in the deal,
Blackstone, Carlyle, Bain maintained “no comment.” Brookfield told CNBC-TV18, “We don’t/ can’t comment on deals” CVC did not offer a comment to CNBC-TV18’s query.

In a recent interview, Mphasis’ top management said that Blackstone’s exit to not impact revenues from its portfolio companies to the IT company. Mphasis’ revenues from Blackstone’s portfolio companies is likely at mid-single-digit of the total revenues.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

RMZ to sell commercial assets to Brookfield for nearly Rs 14,000 crore enterprise value

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bengaluru-based realty firm RMZ has agreed to sell its completed commercial assets portfolio and co-working business to global investment firm Brookfield for an enterprise value of around Rs 14,000 crore as part of its strategy to become debt free, sources said.

The two companies have already approached fair trade regulator CCI for approval of the proposed deal, they added.

RMZ has a total debt of around Rs 12,500 crore and it will become a debt free once the deal gets closed after regulatory approvals. According to the sources, the company is selling between 15 million sq ft and 20 million sq ft area of completed commercial space, mainly offices with small portion of retail.

The proposed deal also includes complete divestment of the group’s co-working business CoWrks. The enterprise value for the entire deal is pegged between Rs 13,000-14,000 crore, the sources said. After this deal, the company would still havearound 5-6 million sq ft area of completed office space and another 35 million sq ft under construction, they added.

“We shall not be extending any comments,” a Brookfield spokesperson said while replying to an e-mail query.
Reply to query sent to RMZ was awaited.

The 17-year-old RMZ group has over 200 enterprise customers in six Indian cities and over 60 million sq ft of completed and under construction assets. India’s office segment has been performing very well despite overall slowdown in the real estate market.

The net leasing stood at record 47 million sq ft in 2019 and it may drop this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The office market is also attracting a lot of global institutional investment from players such as Blackstone, Brookefield and GIC. Few years back, Singapore sovereign fund GIC had invested around Rs 9,000 crore for pick 33 per cent stake in commercial portfolio of realty major DLF.

Blackstone has made significant investments in commercial projects of Embassy group, K Raheja group and Salarpuria Sattva. Prestige group is in advance discussions with global investment firm Blackstone to sell its various commercial assets for an estimated Rs 12,000-13,500 crore as part of its strategy to clear debt and achieve future growth, sources had said last month.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Vodafone Idea board to review proposals for fiber assets sale; Brookfield front runner

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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With the overhang of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case behind it, Vodafone Idea is set to do what it needs to do to live to see another day – raise funds.

The board in a release to exchanges said its board will be meeting to consider various options of raising funds. It said in its statement that it will “consider and evaluate any and all proposals for raising of funds in one or more tranches by way of a public issue, preferential allotment, private placement, including a qualified institutions placement or through any other permissible mode and/or combination thereof.”

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Sources privy to the developments told CNBC-TV18 that the board will also review progress of sale of its fiber assets. Sources in the know told CNBC-TV18 that proposals of Brookfield and KKR to acquired a controlling stake in the business will be considered.

CNBC-TV18 had reported in may that the company was in talks with Brookfield and KKR for selling it’s fiber business. Both companies have now completed due diligence, however sources said Brookfield may emerge a front runner.

“The valuation is below what Vodafone Idea was hopeful for,” said a source familiar with the discussions, that did not want to be named. “The company was hoping for $1.5-2 billion for the fiber business but both offers have come in below $1.2 billion,” he added.

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As per news reports not independently verified by the company, it’s also in talks with US players for an equity infusion.

The company has inter and intra city fiber spread across 160,000 kms in India. It has been looking at selling this business along with its data centre business as a part of its plan to monetise assets and raise capital. The sale, however, of both has gotten delayed due to the AGR case.

When contacted, Vodafone Idea said, “We cannot comment on speculation.”

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3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow