Brookfield to lead $3.7b investment in Reliance India telecom unit

Brookfield is investing via its fourth global infrastructure fund, which launched last year with a reported target of $20 billion and had raised $14.5 billion as of June, according to a regulatory filing. Its previous infrastructure vehicle closed at $14 billion in 2016.

Along with unnamed co-investors, Brookfield will invest in units proposed to be issued by Reliance's Tower Infrastructure Trust, which holds a 51% stake in Reliance Jio Infratel (RJIPL). Proceeds from the investment will be used to repay RJIPL's debts and to acquire the remaining 49% stake in the subsidiary owned by Reliance, according to a filing. The size of the consortium's stake has not been disclosed.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom services arm of Reliance, controlled the tower assets until they were transferred to RJIPL earlier this year. Following the transfer, RJIPL moved its fiber assets to a special purpose vehicle owned by an infrastructure investment trust.

Reliance Jio Infocomm's debt stood at INR1.55 trillion as of March 2019, according to Reliance's most recent annual report, up from INR1.51 trillion the year before. The unit's net profit grew from INR7.2 billion to INR29 billion over the same period, while revenue grew from INR202 billion to INR388 billion.

The deal represents Brookfield's latest bid for a foothold in India's telecom tower segment. It agreed to acquire a majority stake in Reliance Communications' tower assets for INR110 billion in 2016, but that deal fell through the following year after Reliance Communications failed to meet certain conditions.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Technology
• Infrastructure
• Expansion
• India
• TMT
• Brookfield Asset Management