Vertical Bridge, Verizon agreed to $3.3 billion deal that covers greater than 6,300 towers
Vertical Bridge has formally closed on its $3.3 billion tower transaction with Verizon.
Vertical Bridge is acquired unique rights to lease, function and handle greater than 6,300 Verizon wi-fi communications towers in all 50 states.
When the deal was introduced again in September 2024, Ron Bizick, president and CEO of Vertical Bridge, mentioned that it was the biggest U.S. tower transaction in practically a decade and a significant step in direction of the belief of the corporate’s long-term technique.
The 6,339 communications towers are owned by numerous subsidiaries of Verizon, which retains possession of the towers and is getting into right into a 10-year lease-back of capability because the anchor tenant on the towers, with choices to extent as much as 50 years.
Verizon already has an present build-to-suit three way partnership with Vertical Bridge, based mostly on a deal made in 2023 with a purpose to help fast growth of Verizon’s 4G and 5G infrastructure.
The tower transaction is being structured as a pay as you go lease with $2.8 billion in money upfront. Each Vertical Bridge’s mum or dad firm DigitalBridge and international funding firm CDPQ, which is a big shareholder in Vertical Bridge, contributed to the financing of the transaction, which firm executives described as pivotal for the corporate’s realization of its long-term technique.
“The shut of this transaction marks a transformative milestone for Vertical Bridge, solidifying us because the associate of alternative within the U.S. communications infrastructure trade. These under-tenanted towers, many in hard-to-site places, uniquely place us to increase vertical actual property options to our clients,” mentioned Bizick in a press release on the closing of the tower deal. “With the addition of those towers, Vertical Bridge seems to be ahead to rising our partnership with all our tenants.”
Vertical Bridge additionally bought 226 towers from Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel) for $310.3 million in money earlier this 12 months.