Phoenix Tower International (PTI) has secured a financing facility of up to €775m from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and AMP Capital to help support its expansion plan.
The wireless communications infrastructure provider said the financing deal consists of three tranches and may be further increased through an accordion feature, taking the total financing to up to €775m.
Founded in 2013, PTI owns and operates over 12,500 towers, 986km of fibre and markets over 80,000 other wireless infrastructure and related sites located in 16 countries throughout Europe, the US, Latin America and the Caribbean.
PTI’s investors include funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and John Hancock, as well as various members of the management team. Blackstone first invested in PTI in 2014.
The facility will be used to fund PTI’s recent growth in Europe and provides additional capacity to support further growth in both existing and new markets worldwide, the company said.
Dagan Kasavana, CEO of PTI, said: “This financing provides PTI with the flexibility to continue to grow our business across all markets with incremental financing available at our disposal, and will allow us to deliver for our customers, counterparties and business partners in an expedited manner with a strong lender group.
“CDPQ and AMP Capital’s financing will support PTI as we continue to construct and invest in digital infrastructure across all markets and lead the necessary 4G and 5G build-outs on behalf of our customers and the populations we serve around the world.”
Thomas Senecal of Blackstone’s opportunistic investment platform, Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, said: “PTI’s focus on offering value-add infrastructure solutions to our carrier customers is representative of Blackstone’s thematic focus on digital infrastructure and wireless connectivity.
”We are proud to partner with CDPQ, a long-term partner to Blackstone, and AMP Capital to support our expansion across the US, Europe, and other growth markets.”
Marc Cormier, executive VP and head of fixed Income at CDPQ, said: “This financing in PTI builds on our previous experience to contribute to the expansion of digital infrastructure globally, alongside recognized industry leaders in this fast-growing sector.
”By providing a customised and flexible financing solution to PTI, CDPQ is supporting a high-quality operator well-positioned to seize opportunities in attractive markets that are experiencing a rising demand for connectivity.”
Patrick Trears, the global head of infrastructure debt at AMP Capital, said: “With the demand for telecommunication infrastructure set to continue to increase, we believe that PTI is well-placed to assist in meeting this demand and capitalise on associated growth opportunities across their markets.
”Telecommunications infrastructure remains a key sector for our infrastructure debt strategy, and with this transaction, we are pleased to have added another high-quality investment for our investors around the world.”
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