US telecommunications tower infrastructure owner Vertical Bridge REIT has merged with Eco-Site as part of the former’s plan to expand its footprint in the country.
Vertical Bridge, which is backed by investors including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Digital Bridge, said it has completed the merger the tower sites infrastructure developer, in tie-up which increases Vertical Bridge’s owned and master-leased tower portfolio to over 20,000 sites and its entire portfolio to more than 290,000 sites located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Financial details were undisclosed.
Eco-Site co-founders Dale Carey, Bob Glosson and Rich Stern are joining the Vertical Bridge executive team. Carey will serve as executive VP of strategy and convergence at Vertical Bridge. Glosson becomes senior VP of real estate solutions, and Stern will be senior VP of real estate.
Alex Gellman, CEO and co-founder of Vertical Bridge, said Vertical Bridge and Eco-Site share a proven track record of success in build-to-suit, having collectively constructed well over 1,600 new towers in the last five years alone. This is the highest rate of any company in the market and a ”testament to our collective capabilities”.
“As a private, at-scale and permanent company, we have the flexibility and capital to be strategic in our growth model and we will continue to identify opportunities to expand our footprint that fit into our pure tower, pure US strategy,” Gellman said.
Carey, said: “The wireless sector is significantly different than it was just a few years ago and scale matters more than ever when it comes to being able to meet the evolving needs of our customers. I’ve known the Vertical Bridge team for many years and am excited to work with them under one banner.”
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