Verizon in $3.3 bln mobile tower deal with infrastructure firm Vertical Bridge
Adds background and details in paragraphs 5-6
By Jaspreet Singh
Sept 30 (Reuters) -Verizon Communications will give infrastructure firm Vertical Bridge rights to lease, operate and manage thousands of mobile phone towers for $3.3 billion, it said on Monday, unlocking more cash for the U.S. wireless carrier to bolster its network.
The deal, covering 6,339 towers across all 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C., includes upfront cash proceeds of $2.8 billion. The towers will be leased back to Verizon VZ.N for 10 years, with an option to extend the term up to 50 years.
The deal is expected to close by the end of 2024 and would aid Verizon's efforts to drive down tower-related costs.
"This fits with a global trend of wireless operators divesting their owned and operated towers. But it is also a recognition that towers are generally worth more in the hands of independent operators who can more easily lease space on the tower to multiple tenants," MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said.
In 2019, rival AT&T had signed a sale-leaseback agreement valued up to $680 million with private equity firm Peppertree Capital Management for about 1,000 wireless communication towers.
Verizon, which will maintain ownership of these towers, already has a tie-up with Vertical Bridge, under which the infrastructure firm plans to construct towers with the wireless carrier as the anchor tenant.
Vertical Bridge has more than 500,000 sites in the U.S. that includes wireless and broadcast towers. It also has partnerships with companies including AT&T T.N and T-Mobile US TMUS.O.
"(This deal) positions us to capitalize on the growing demand for wireless infrastructure, especially as AI-driven technologies and 5G continue to reshape connectivity needs across industries," Vertical Bridge Vice Chairman Marc Ganzi said.
Asset manager DigitalBridge, which is the majority owner of Vertical Bridge, and Canada's second-largest pension fund CDPQ would provide capital to support the deal.
Verizon had said earlier this month it would buy fiber-optic internet provider Frontier Communications FYBR.O in an all-cash deal worth $20 billion.
Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar
Aloqador aktivlar
Eng oxirgi yangiliklar
Javobgarlikdan voz kechish: XM Group korxonalari har biri faqat ijro xizmatlarini koʻrsatadi va onlayn savdo platformamizdan foydalanish huquqini beradi, bu odamga veb-saytda yoki veb-sayt orqali mavjud boʻlgan kontentni koʻrish va/yoki undan foydalanishga ruxsat beradi hamda uni oʻzgartirishga moʻljallanmagan va uni oʻzgartirmaydi yoki kengaytirmaydi. Bunday kirish va foydalanish huquqi doimo quyidagilarga boʻysunadi: (i) Shartlar va qoidalar; (ii) Risklar haqida ogohlantirish; va (iii) Javobgarlikni toʻliq rad etish. Shuning uchun bunday kontent umumiy maʼlumot sifatida taqdim etiladi. Xususan, shuni esda tutingki, bizning onlayn savdo platformamiz mazmuni moliyaviy bozorlarda biror bitimni amalga oshirishga oid maslahat yoki taklif emas. Har qanday moliyaviy bozorda savdo qilish sizning kapitalingiz uchun jiddiy risk darajasini oʻz ichiga oladi.
Onlayn savdo platformamizda chop etilgan barcha materiallar faqat taʼlim/axborot maqsadlari uchun moʻljallangan va unda moliyaviy, investitsiya soligʻi yoki savdo maslahatlari va tavsiyalar; yoki bizning savdo narxlarimizning qaydlari; yoki har qanday moliyaviy vositalar bilan bitim tuzish maslahati yoki taklifi; yoki sizga kerak boʻlmagan moliyaviy reklama aksiyalari hisoblanmaydi
Har qanday uchinchi tomon kontenti, shuningdek XM tomonidan tayyorlangan kontent, masalan: fikrlar, yangiliklar, tadqiqotlar, tahlillar, narxlar va boshqa maʼlumotlar yoki bu veb-saytda joylashgan uchinchi tomon saytlariga havolalar umumiy bozor sharhi sifatida "boricha" taqdim etiladi va investitsiya maslahatini tashkil etmaydi. Har qanday kontent investitsiya tadqiqoti sifatida talqin qilinsa, siz bunday kontentni investitsiya tadqiqotlarining mustaqilligini ragʻbatlantirish uchun moʻljallangan qonun talablariga muvofiq moʻljallanmagan va tayyorlanmaganligini eʼtiborga olishingiz va qabul qilishingiz kerak, shuning uchun unga tegishli qonunlar va qoidalarga muvofiq marketing kommunikatsiyasi sifatida qaraladi. Mustaqil boʻlmagan investitsiya tadqiqoti va yuqoridagi maʼlumotlarga oid risk haqida ogohlantirishimizni oʻqib chiqqaningizga va tushunganingizga ishonch hosil qiling, unga bu yerdan kirish mumkin.
