[BENGALURU] Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel said on Friday (Feb 25) it would buy a 4.7 per cent stake in cell tower firm Indus Towers from Vodafone Group.

The British telecoms group said earlier this week it was looking to sell its entire 28.1 per cent stake in Indus Towers, India's largest cell tower company.

Airtel did not disclose the deal value but said it was "protected with a capped price, which is lower than the price for the block of Indus shares sold by Vodafone (Group)."

The deal is on the condition that proceeds from the sale would be infused back into Vodafone Idea, Airtel said.

India's telecoms market, one of the world's biggest, was upended by Reliance Industries' Jio Infocomm, which launched with free voice and cut-price data in late 2016.

This forced several rivals out of the market while others such as the local unit of Vodafone and India's Idea Cellular merged.

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Debt-laden Vodafone Idea has paid the government 78.54 billion rupees in dues, but still owes roughly 500 billion rupees.

Shares of Indus Towers closed 4.2 per cent higher at 214.60 rupees on Friday. The news was announced after markets closed. REUTERS