EQT-backed Zayo in lead to buy Crown Castle assets in deal above $8 bln, source says

Digitalbridge

30/01/2025 03:04

By Milana Vinn and Disha Mishra
       Jan 29 (Reuters) - Fiber network owner Zayo Group is in
the lead to buy the Crown Castle's  CCI.N  assets in a deal that
could be valued at over $8 billion, a source familiar with the
matter told Reuters.
    Zayo, owned by Sweden's EQT  EQTAB.ST  and DigitalBridge
 DBRG.N  have outbid buyout firm TPG  TPG.O  for Crown Castle's
assets, said the source, who declined to be identified as the
information is confidential.
    The sale would include Crown Castle's fiber and small cell
businesses, that provide wireless services and technology,
Reuters has previously reported. 
    Zayo and Crown Castle did not immediately respond to Reuters
request for comment outside regular business hours.
    If the deal goes through, the transaction will come at a
time when dealmaking in the fiber industry is heating up, as the
rapid growth of fiber broadband provides a major boost to
infrastructure providers, making them attractive acquisition
targets.
    Houston, Texas-based Crown Castle, which has a market value
of $38.2 billion, is a telecommunications infrastructure
provider that operates more than 40,000 cellular towers across
the United States.
    Crown Castle rents out towers to wireless carriers such as
Verizon  VZ.N  and AT&T  T.N , and has grown its fiber business
through several acquisitions. However, the high cost of building
fiber infrastructure has weighed on its financial performance,
forcing it to consider a retreat from the business and slash
spending.
    

 (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Disha Mishra in
Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
 ((Disha.Mishra@thomsonreuters.com;))