The deal is likely in the form of a slump sale, said one of the people directly involved in the talks. The deal could close even in a month's time," the person said.The Kumar Mangalam Birla-owned telco has about 11,000 captive towers via a wholly owned arm Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services and Vodafone India directly owns 10,926 towers. The two are also part of a telecom tower joint venture — Indus Towers Vodafone may hive off its towers into a wholly owned unit, which would be part of the combined deal, said one of the persons. In this regard, we are being approached by many parties to explore possible options," said a Vodafone spokesperson. But the company, which was in talks to buy Idea's standalone towers, may have lost out due to differences in valuations, the second person quoted above said.

Source: Economic Times May 28, 2017 19:06 UTC