Indian Wireless Firm's Tower Deal Scrapped

Reliance Communications Ltd.'s plan to merge the telecom-tower assets of its Reliance Infratel Ltd. with telecom-infrastructure company GTL Infrastructure Ltd. was scrapped Sept 6, dealing a blow to the fund-raising and debt-reduction efforts of the Indian wireless carrier.

But the companies didn't say why they couldn't stitch together a deal that would have created an independent tower entity with an enterprise value of at least 500 billion rupees, or about $10.76 billion, with more than 80,000 towers. Reliance Communications said it is in talks with "strategic and financial investors" for a similar transaction aimed at reducing its $6.2 billion debt. Reliance Communications owns 95% of Reliance Infratel.