On 14 November 2016, CS&L, a U.S. based REIT which owns 4.2mn fibre strand miles (6.76mn km), 86 wireless towers, and other communications real estate throughout the United States and Mexico, announced the purchase of 359 towers from NMS for a total value of US$65mn.
The towers are spread across Mexico, Colombia and Nicaragua and have been acquired by CS&L’s LatAm subsidiary, Uniti Towers (formerly known as Summit LatAm). Here are some details of the transaction.
In Mexico, Uniti Towers acquired 205 sites (and 108 under development) with annual revenue of US$3.5mn, TCF margin around 54% and a tenancy ratio of 1.13x. In Colombia, the towerco has bought 100 towers (and 5 under development) with annual revenue of US$1.6mn, TCF margin around 52% and a tenancy ratio of 1.10x. Lastly, the deal included 54 existing sites and one under development in Nicaragua, with annual revenue summing up to US$1.2mn, TCF margin at 80% and a higher tenancy ratio of 1.31x.
The existing portfolio of 359 sites includes about 194 GBT (54% of the entire portfolio) and 165 rooftops (46%), while the percentage of rooftops is expected to grow to 48% once the sites under development are built (taking the total portfolio up to 473 sites).
Details of the Uniti Towers-NMS transaction:
