i Develop Stocks Advisory

Tata Tele to sell up to 49% stake in tower company CDMA player Tata Teleservices would divest up to 49 per cent stake in its tower subsidiary Wireless Tata Telecom Infrastructure Limited in the next two months. "We will sell 26-49 per cent stake in our tower company to a strategic investor. We have already started negotiations regarding this and the deal is likely to be completed by the end of May," the Managing Director of Tata Teleservices (TTSL) Mr Anil Sardana. He said the company has short-listed 15 strategic investors for selling the stake. The players include Quippo, GTL and others. Asked about the valuation of the tower arm, he did not give any figure, but said if not better, the valuation would be similar to their competitors because of the quality of the towers. TTSL has over 10,000 towers, while Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) has 3,500 towers. On the listing of TTSL's tower subsidiary, Mr Sardana said it would be decided after the strategic stake sale. "We will also add 3,000 towers every year for the next fi ve years," he added. The company, which has recently got approval for offering GSM services, would continue to focus on CDMA segment for providing data services. "CDMA is a very good technology for providing data services, we will continue to focus on it," Mr Sardana said. - PTI