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Verizon to sell mobile towers to infrastructure company Vertical Bridge in $3.3 bln offer

Verizon Communications will sell countless cellphone towers to digital infrastructure company Vertical Bridge in a $3.3 billion offer, it said on Monday, opening more money for the dominant U.S. wireless provider to bolster its network.

The deal, covering 6,339 towers across all 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C., consists of upfront money earnings of $2.8. billion. The towers will be leased back to Verizon for ten years,. with an alternative to extend the term approximately 50 years.

The sale is expected to nearby the end of 2024 and would. aid Verizon's efforts to drive down tower-related costs.

This fits with an international pattern of wireless operators. divesting their owned and run towers. But it is likewise a. recognition that towers are normally worth more in the hands of. independent operators who can more easily rent space on the. tower to multiple renters, MoffettNathanson expert Craig. Moffett stated.

Verizon currently has a tie-up with Vertical Bridge, under. which the facilities company prepares to build towers with the. wireless provider as the anchor occupant.

Vertical Bridge has more than 500,000 websites in the U.S. that. includes wireless and broadcast towers. It also has collaborations. with business consisting of AT&T and T-Mobile United States.

( This deal) positions us to profit from the growing. need for cordless facilities, particularly as AI-driven. technologies and 5G continue to reshape connectivity requirements. across industries, Vertical Bridge Vice Chairman Marc Ganzi. said.

Property supervisor DigitalBridge, which is the majority owner of. Vertical Bridge, and Canada's second-largest pension fund CDPQ. would provide capital to support the offer.

Verizon had stated earlier this month it would buy fiber-optic. internet supplier Frontier Communications in an. all-cash offer worth $20 billion.

J.P. Morgan and Centerview Partners LLC are financial. advisors to Verizon and Vertical Bridge, while Jones Day and. Greenberg Traurig are legal counsels to the firms, respectively.

(source: Reuters)