Bharti Infratel Seeking to Buy Vodafone, Idea Towers in 7 Circles

Mobile tower company Bharti Infratel has approached Vodafone and Idea Cellular to buy their mobile towers in seven out of 22 telecom circles in the country, a top official of the company said on Wednesday.

"I have made it very clear to Vodafone and Idea Cellular that we are interested in buying their towers in seven circles where Bharti Infratel is sole operator and Indus doesn't operate," Bharti Infratel Executive Chairman Akhil Gupta said on sidelines of an event in Mumbai.

Infratel has over 36,381 standalone mobile towers spread across 18 states under 11 telecom circles. The company also has a 42 percent stake in Indus Towers- joint venture between Bharti Infratel, Vodafone and Aditya Birla Telecom.

The states where Bharti Infratel has no overlapping business with Indus includes, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam and North Eastern states. These states jointly

come under seven telecom circles.

"We are waiting for them to come back. If at all they are ready we will be certainly pursuing the matter," Gupta added.