Verizon has entered into a $3.3 billion agreement with digital infrastructure firm Vertical Bridge, giving the firm rights to lease, operate, and manage mobile phone towers in the United States.
Verizon said the transaction is structured as a prepaid lease with upfront proceeds of approximately $2.8 billion in cash.
The telecom tower deal includes 6,339 wireless towers across all states. Verizon has an existing build-to-suit joint venture with Vertical Bridge. Vertical Bridge is the largest operator of communications infrastructure with more than 500,000 sites, including over 11,000 owned and master-leased towers pre-transaction.
“As the nation’s largest mobility provider, we are well positioned with greater financial flexibility to invest in our business, return value to our shareholders and make the nation’s best network even better for customers,” said Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg.
Vertical Bridge, a Florida-based real estate investment trust (REIT), specializes in wireless infrastructure and manages more than 500,000 sites across the United States, including wireless and broadcast towers. The company, co-founded by Alex Gellman in 2014, has existing partnerships with other telecom giants such as AT&T and T-Mobile US.
This transaction follows Verizon’s recent announcement in September that it would acquire fiber-optic internet provider Frontier Communications in an all-cash deal valued at $20 billion.
The partnership with Vertical Bridge, whose investors include DigitalBridge and CDPQ, aims to streamline Verizon’s mobile tower operations, enabling the company to focus more on its core business areas while benefiting from Vertical Bridge’s expertise in managing wireless infrastructure.
