Macquarie Capital acquires majority stake in CloudExtel in India

• Placing CloudExtel on a fast-track growth path

Macquarie Capital, the corporate advisory, capital markets, and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group, has acquired a majority stake in Excel Telesonic India Private Limited (CloudExtel), a leading Network as a Service (NaaS) provider in India.

India is a large and fast-growing market with more than one billion mobile subscribers¹, presenting significant scope for growth in fibre deployment and high-capacity wireless solutions. As India embraces a digitalised economy coupled with the shift towards 5G, the growth in mobile usage and demand for data capacity are accelerating the deployment of digital infrastructure. CloudExtel’s solutions for telecom operators, internet service providers, data centres, enterprises and large content providers equip them with cost effective futureproof networks.

Macquarie Capital’s flexible capital investment will enable CloudExtel to further develop and roll out its telecommunications infrastructure portfolio, particularly in small cells and fibre while continuing to push the envelope towards virtualised networks, which will facilitate improved performance and faster data connectivity for end users.

Ivan Varughese, Senior Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure and Energy Capital, Asia Pacific, Macquarie Capital said: “With the rapid growth of digitalisation, better network coverage and capacity is essential to enabling people to stay connected. We are excited to leverage our global experience to support CloudExtel in expanding their telecommunications portfolio as well as enhancing the quality and effectiveness of connectivity for local communities across India.”

“The demand for internet data via mobile networks has risen 20-fold since 2015 in India. Adequate infrastructure to decongest networks and enhance connectivity is a must for a high quality user experience. Furthermore, tower fiberisation in India stands at 33 per cent, versus around 70 per cent in mature global markets. Enterprise and household fibre penetration is even lower. These gaps depict the opportunities that lie ahead for CloudExtel. Partnering with Macquarie Capital and their flexible balance sheet will help us substantially scale our infrastructure services and imbibe global best practices, ultimately leading to superior networks for telecom operators and delighted end users,” said Kunal Bajaj, CEO and Co-Founder, CloudExtel.

“CloudExtel has been built ground up with a view of improving economics of telecom operators and service experience of end users. It has grown at a revenue CAGR of more than 84 per cent for over five years with a positive EBITDA. To continue to grow at an aggressive rate, achieve the next level of scale and provide its latest offering in infrastructure sharing, a significant amount of capital would be required. We are very proud to be partnering with Macquarie Capital, an organisation with a vision, appetite and culture which is aligned with that of CloudExtel,” said Ashish Jalan, Founder, CloudExtel and Director, Bombay Gas Company Limited.

As India is one of the largest telecommunications markets globally², a combination of implementing global best practices with an understanding of local nuances is essential. Thus, the partnership between Macquarie Capital and CloudExtel brings together the required capabilities.

About CloudExtel

CloudExtel is a Network as a Service (NaaS) provider offering infrastructure services such as Small Cell Hosting, FTTH, Intra-City Fibre and Virtualized Networks. It provides solutions to telecom operators, internet service providers, data centers, enterprises and large content providers for addressing the challenges emerging from the hyper-growth of data consumption in India. With a footprint covering more than 400 cities and towns in all telecom license areas across the country, the company owns and operates networks that address critical points of network stress, leverage sharing and adopt emerging heterogenous network technologies.

1. Source: Analysys Mason
2. Source: Analysys Mason