Indian operator Aircel is reportedly considering buying back the telecom towers it sold to GTL Infrastructure in 2010 to help save money in the long run.
Aircel is in early talks regarding the potential repurchase of 17,000 towers from the infrastructure operator, two sources told the Economic Times.
At the time of the sale, Aircel also committed to take up tenancies on 20,000 of GTL Infrastructure towers. But these commitments were made prior to the late 2010 2G scandal – an investigation into alleged collusion by a former telecom minister and numerous newer telecom operators during a 2008 spectrum auction.
The fallout from the 2G scandal was wide-ranging and forced many operators to scale back their expansion plans. Aircel has also been struggling under around 240 billion rupees ($3.9 billion) worth of debt. As a result, it has been unable to take up the commitments.
But Aircel has recently secured a cash infusion from parent company Maxis in the form of 60 billion rupees worth of shareholder loans.
According to the sources, it may prove cheaper to buy back the towers than pay penalties for breaching the commitments.
GTL Infrastructure may not be willing to sell just the 17,000 towers, and may instead require Aircel to also purchase its remaining 15,000 towers, the sources said. A full acquisition would require the approval of GTL Infrastructure's creditors.