Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), a leading private equity firm, has agreed to invest US$ 250 million in Bharti Infratel. 
KKR’s investment is in addition to the US$1 billion in Bharti Infratel pledged in December 2007 by leading international investors Temasek Holdings, The Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), Goldman Sachs, Macquarie, AIF Capital and Citigroup & India Equity Partners (IEP).
Bharti Infratel owns over 20,000 sites and holds an approximately 42% stake in Indus Towers, the recently announced joint venture between Bharti, Vodafone and Idea, which has over 70,000 sites. Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers will provide passive infrastructure services to all wireless telecom operators in India on a non-discriminatory basis. Sharing of passive infrastructure results in capex and opex savings and higher capital efficiency for all wireless operators, enabling quicker roll out of services, especially in rural areas, thus benefiting millions of people across India.
Bharti said the investment reinforces the confidence of leading global investors in the Indian telecom sector, which is now the fastest growing telecom market in the world, and the Bharti Group. It is also an endorsement of the Indian Government’s visionary policy on sharing of passive infrastructure.http://www.bhartiairtel.inhttp://www.kkr.com
- KKR’s list of current investments in the networking space includes Aricent, Avago, NXP, YAGEO, NuVox, pages jaunes, 7, and Zhone Technologies, amongst others.
