La Caisse, the Montréal-based investment group formerly known as CDPQ, has acquired a 24% stake in Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust, paying approximately Rs121bn ($1.28bn) for a share of what the companies describe as India’s largest independent telecom tower platform. The La Caisse Altius stake puts the Canadian fund alongside Brookfield, which remains the platform’s largest investor.
What La Caisse is buying into
Altius owns and operates more than 258,000 telecom towers and sites across India, giving it a nationwide footprint. The platform provides infrastructure used by mobile network operators to deliver 4G and 5G services. According to The Hindu, Altius was formerly known as Data Infrastructure Trust and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India as an infrastructure investment trust, or InvIT. That structure, which pools income-generating infrastructure assets and distributes returns to unit-holders, has become an increasingly common vehicle for large-scale infrastructure ownership in India.
Existing shareholders affiliated with GIC and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation remain invested following the transaction. The deal adds La Caisse to a consortium of institutional investors that Brookfield has assembled around the platform.
Rediff Moneynews reported the investment as valued at approximately Rs12,100 crore, equivalent to CAD 1.76 billion, adding further context to the scale of La Caisse’s commitment. The transaction represents one of the larger single infrastructure bets the fund has made in the Asian market.
The investment case: India’s 5G rollout
La Caisse said the deal is driven by India’s expanding telecom market, with rising mobile data consumption and the national rollout of 5G services underpinning demand for tower infrastructure. The fund described India as the world’s second-largest telecommunications market, with that scale creating sustained demand for digital infrastructure assets such as towers and related network facilities.
Emmanuel Jaclot, La Caisse’s executive vice-president and head of infrastructure and sustainability, made the investment rationale plain. ‘As India’s economy grows and more people and businesses rely on higher use of mobile data, the infrastructure behind those connections needs to keep pace,’ he said. ‘This is a sector we know well through our investments in telecom towers and digital infrastructure around the world. With Altius, we are investing in an attractive market through an established platform, alongside Brookfield and other institutional partners with whom we have longstanding relationships.’
That last point carries some weight. La Caisse has co-invested with Brookfield on infrastructure deals elsewhere, and the familiarity between the two parties appears to have been a factor in the transaction’s structure. Brookfield retains operational control of the platform while La Caisse and the other institutional investors provide long-term capital backing.
La Caisse Altius deal welcomed by Brookfield
Sam Pollock, chief executive of Brookfield‘s infrastructure group, said the transaction reflects confidence in the platform’s position. ‘Altius has built a scaled, nationwide platform that is in a leading position to meet India’s demand for mobile connectivity and 5G infrastructure,’ he said. ‘La Caisse’s investment brings another long-term institutional partner to the platform and reflects confidence in the strength of the business.’
Pollock added that Brookfield intends to continue supporting the platform’s next phase of growth through what he described as ‘owner-operator capabilities and disciplined, long-term approach to infrastructure investing.’
The deal comes as large institutional investors have been directing more capital toward digital infrastructure in emerging markets, where mobile network expansion is outpacing the growth seen in more saturated Western markets. Tower assets, which generate revenue from tenancy agreements with network operators, offer long-duration contracted income of the kind that suits pension and sovereign-wealth-style funds.
As of 30 June 2026, La Caisse held C$552bn in net assets. The Altius transaction adds to a portfolio of telecom tower and digital infrastructure investments the fund already holds globally, extending that strategy into one of the world’s fastest-growing mobile markets.
