GTL eyeing at acquisitions in USA, Europe & Middle East

GTL Ltd has announced that in the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company held on October 05, 2006, the Chairman & Managing Director, Mr Manoj G Tirodkar, informed the Board that the Company has prepared the blue print of the inorganic growth. Currently there are 3 candidate companies in USA, Europe and Middle East, which the Company is considering.

"GTL is a leader in network services space in India with a revenue base of Rs 980 Crores. We believe that the matured markets in USA and Europe have huge growth potential for network and infrastructure maintenance and roll-out of 3G Networks. We can maintain these networks remotely from our Network Operations Centres in India. The off-shoring of such work will bring in huge cost advantage and will boost our bottom line. The acquisitions will give us the requisite knowledge and skill sets to roll out 3G Networks. This will help us in winning contracts in India and other emerging markets.

The telecom markets in Middle East and Africa are growing. We are expecting a huge network roll-out opportunities in these markets and the acquisitions will help us to increase our market share in these regions" informed Mr. Pinakin Gandhi, VP Strategic Planning & Investor Relations.

The Company is already in advance stages of talks with companies that strategically fit in the Company's value chain and the due diligence process should be completed soon. If all the three companies are acquired the revenue addition is expected to be around Rs 800 Cr. The customer base of these companies include leading telecom operators of USA, Europe & Middle East and global technology leaders like Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola. These acquisitions will help the company to become a global leader in Network Services.

The objective of the acquisitions is to:

- Add to its International customer base in USA, Europe, Middle East markets
- Strengthen presence and become a global player and leader in the network services space
- Acquire skill sets on advanced technical platforms like 3G
- Create remote network services model around the international customer base to deliver services from its Network Operation Centres
During the meeting, the board approved the following:
a. Considered and approved the acquisition strategy of the Company.

b. Noted the acquisition candidates profiles and their fitment into the areas of Network Planning & Design, Network Operations and Maintenance, Infrastructure management and professional services.

c. Approved to initiate the due diligence process for the candidates short listed and

d. Noted the proposed financial resources supporting this program and approved utilization of the same as and when these acquisitions are getting finalized.

Source : Equity Bulls

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