In the telecom towers business, American Tower Corporation is close to acquiring Tower Vision, a standalone telecom tower company owned by a group of international financial investors, for Rs 3,200 crore, a transaction that will enable the US company to significantly scale up its presence in India. Two people familiar with the developments said the deal, which has been in the works since the beginning of the year, is likely to close within 60 days.    

This will be the first M&A transaction in nearly three years in the telecom towers business, a segment which saw hectic consolidation a few years ago, but which has been hit by the stoppage of operations of some new entrants after the Supreme Court cancelled licences in 2012. ATC is offering Rs 40 lakh per tower for 8,000 towers of Tower Vision that have been on the block since 2010.    

The valuation is marginally lower than the Rs 46 lakh per tower GTL Infrastructure paid for acquiring Aircel's tower business in January 2010. Tower Vision's investors include Fort Group and Mivatch Shamir from Israel, UK's RP Capital, and Quadrangle Partners, a private equity fund.    

ATC, one of the world's largest and most profitable tower companies, has grown in the country largely through the acquisition of XCel and Essar Telecom's towers.