Vertical Bridge has announced a deal with Verizon in which the towerco will obtain exclusive rights to lease, manage, and operate 6,339 wireless communication towers across the U.S. from Verizon subsidiaries. Vertical Bridge is the largest privately owned towerco in the the US and is backed by long-time towerco entrepreneur Marc Ganzi's DigitalBridge.
The transaction is expected to close by year end - subject to customary closing conditions and approvals - and has been agreed for an initial term of 10 years, with an option to extend the term up to 50 years. The deal values the 6,000+ towers at US$3.3bn. The carrier reported it wanted to raise capital and reduce tower related costs.
Vertical Bridge has more than 500,000 sites in the U.S. that includes wireless and broadcast towers. The towerco owns and leases over 11,000 telecom towers, and so the additional 6,339 towers would see the towerco grow its macro site count by more than 50% by year end. Few towers in the USA sit outside towerco hands so the move represents a significant shift in ownership in the US.
Commenting on the deal Vertical Bridge Vice Chairman, and DigitalBridge Founder, Marc Ganzi said "this deal positions us to capitalise on the growing demand for wireless infrastructure, especially as AI-driven technologies and 5G continue to reshape connectivity needs across industries."
The deal is not the first struck by the towerco, as it reported in March that Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) had agreed to sell its tower portfolio to Vertical Bridge for $310.3 million.
Early in September Verizon had committed to buying fibreco Frontier Communications in an all-cash deal worth $20 billion. It was also reported that DigitalBridge was considering selling its APAC towerco Edgepoint Infrastructure.
