By Jaspreet Singh
(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 (NYSE:VZ) 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 (NYSE: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 and T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS).
"(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 (OTC:FTRCQ) in an all-cash deal worth $20 billion.