Back in March, QMC Telecom International appeared in the news after raising US$100mn by Accel Partners, Grupo Santo Domingo and Housatonic Partners among others. The total amount of equity capital raised by QMC so far is approximately US$172mn and more than 50% of the new round of financing will be re-invested in Brazil.
TowerXchange hasn’t yet interviewed any of QMC’s executives ‘on the record’, although they are regular participants in the TowerXchange Meetup Americas.
Here is a bit of background on the company’s activities and footprint.
QMC is a leading build to suit-centric towerco founded by José Stella and Rafael Somoza back in 2008 and is currently active in Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Mexico, where it operates as Conex. QMC started operating in Colombia back in 2014 and is yet to release any information regarding its footprint there. However, in a recent interview with Tele.Síntese, Rafael Somoza, co-CEO of the company, reported that QMC’s portfolio (existing and in the pipeline) amounts to 1,500 sites, with 550 sites already built.
In the same interview, Somoza went on to clarify that the company’s activities in Brazil go beyond towers. In fact, QMC is very active in the small cell space with two large projects currently being developed. The first one is an industrial hub called Complexo Brasil 21 in Brasilia which will result in over 220,000 sq. mt. and more than 400 antennas. The second project - Patio Cianê - is a shopping centre located in Sorocaba where construction has recently finalised and carriers are busy installing equipment.
Although reluctant to appear in the spotlight, QMC has recently reported a CAGR over 275%. A very positive indicator and certainly one of the drivers of Accel’s investment, which is the company’s largest financial commitment in Latin America.
In April, QMC announced the completion of its tower in São João do Oeste in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, a very remote area approximately 700km west of Florianopolis. The project made local news as it will allow all local communities within 10km of the site to be covered for the very first time.
Brazilian operators have immediately expressed interest in utilising the tower. TIM has been active on the site since the beginning of May, whereas Claro should install its antenna sometimes in June and Vivo is looking at receiving the necessary permit in July.
In the Tele.Síntese interview, Somoza concluded that QMC is one of the largest BTS firms in Brazil, if not the number one in terms of production and development capacity. Already serving all carriers active in the country including Claro, Vivo, TIM, Oi, Sky, On Telecom and Algar, QMC is surely on the right path to succeed as a BTS firm in Brazil and beyond.
