VICTORIA — British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) announced Monday it is part of a global deal, along with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and its institutional partners, to acquire a 100% stake in a telecom tower company in India.
They are purchasing the company from Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited, and the value of the transaction is approximately US$3.4 billion, says the news release.
The investment comprises a portfolio of approximately 135,000 recently constructed communication towers which form Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited’s telecommunication network. According to the news release, more towers are planned, which will increase the total number of towers in the transaction perimeter to almost 175,000. Jio is the anchor tenant of the tower portfolio under a 30-year master services agreement, which will provide the tower company with a long-term source of revenue, says the release.
“For BCI and our clients, this investment is well aligned with our long-term strategy of investing in high-quality companies and assets that fulfill essential needs of the communities in which they operate,” said Lincoln Webb, executive vice president and global head of BCI’s infrastructure and renewable resources program, in the release. “Data services are increasingly critical to societies and economies in today’s world — promoting both opportunity for individuals and potential innovation for local communities. BCI is excited by the opportunity to invest in infrastructure that will play a vital role in enabling India’s continued economic growth.”
With C$171.3 billion of managed net assets as of March 31, 2020, BCI is one of Canada’s largest institutional investors. BCI’s infrastructure and renewable resources program, valued at more than C$18.3 billion, invests in companies across a variety of sectors spanning regulated utilities, energy, telecommunications and transportation.
For more information, please visit bci.ca.
