US tower company Crown Castle is selling its small cells and fibre solutions businesses in two separate transactions, with EQT acquiring the small cells unit for $4.25bn and Zayo — jointly owned by EQT and DigitalBridge — buying the fibre solutions unit for the same amount.
With the Crown Castle assets, Zayo will add approximately 90,000 route miles of fibre to Zayo’s network and increase its overall reach to more than 70,000 on-net locations.
The small cells solutions business, to be acquired by the EQT Active Core Infrastructure fund, comprises a nationwide portfolio of roughly 115,000 small cells in 43 states, serving the top three US mobile network operators.
Alexander Greenbaum, partner and head of EQT’s active core infrastructure advisory team, said: “This investment is a natural fit within EQT Active Core Infrastructure’s strategy – investing behind long-term contracted, core infrastructure assets with strong growth potential.
“With EQT’s deep experience in digital infrastructure and active approach to value creation, we see significant opportunity to support the company’s continued growth.”
Nirav Shah, partner within EQT’s infrastructure advisory team, said: “Crown Castle’s Small Cells Solutions business is a platform at the heart of the next generation of digital infrastructure, enabling essential digital connectivity that will help power the future.
“With its significant scale, operational excellence, and deep carrier relationships, the company is poised to benefit from positive digital tailwinds.”
Steve M Smith, CEO at Zayo, said: “We are strategically investing in expanding and enhancing our country’s critical network infrastructure to meet the demands of hyperscalers, data centres, enterprises and carriers that will facilitate the growing AI economy.
“This acquisition strengthens our ability to deliver the reliable, low-latency, high-capacity fibre solutions our customers need to scale in an increasingly data-driven world, and furthers our commitment to providing world-class customer service and solutions.”
Marc Ganzi, CEO of DigitalBridge, said: “As AI reshapes industries and accelerates economic transformation, this transaction underscores the vital nature of fibre and the critical role it plays as the backbone of innovation, productivity and market growth.
“With Crown Castle’s robust metro-focused assets, Zayo will be well-positioned to fuel AI adoption, enhance connectivity solutions and accelerate technological progress.”
Jan Vesely, partner at EQT, said: “The addition of Crown Castle’s fibre solutions business is a strategic move to help fortify the US’s AI-driven future by delivering the bandwidth, scalability and reliability required for next-generation applications.
“The companies and nations that lead in AI will be those that invest ambitiously in high-performance digital infrastructure. Zayo is doing exactly that, building the foundation necessary to support the next wave of global innovation, economic acceleration and technological progress.”
EQT’s investment in Zayo is made through the EQT Infrastructure IV fund.
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