LONDON, UK: Pantheon Infrastructure, the listed global infrastructure fund, has invested $30m (£23m at present exchange rates) in US wi-fi communication infrastructure operator Vertical Bridge, through a co-investment vehicle managed by DigitalBridge Group Inc. (NYSE:DBRG), a number one global digital infrastructure investor managing $45bn in digital infrastructure assets.
Vertical Bridge is the largest private proprietor and operator of tower and wi-fi communication infrastructure within the US, with a portfolio of greater than 8,000 towers and 300,000 total sites. Its portfolio, which spreads throughout all 50 states and in Puerto Rico, includes towers, rooftops, billboards, utility attachments and different locations that support wi-fi community connectivity.
Vertical Bridge has quickly expanded since its founding in 2014 and is well-positioned to proceed this growth because it addresses the rising demand for 5G-enabled devices and services. Vertical Bridge is licensed as carbon neutral, becoming in 2020 the world’s first tower firm to obtain net-zero emissions.
The US digital infrastructure sector has transitioned from being area of interest to a core sub-sector in recent years and is benefitting from strong secular tailwinds fuelled by the expansion in mobile data consumption, migration to the cloud and the deployment of high-speed networks.
Richard Sem, Partner at Pantheon Ventures, PINT’s funding manager, said: “We are happy to have made an funding in a sector that’s experiencing such strong tailwinds, and alongside a sponsor in DigitalBridge with an excellent track record investing on this space. As the largest privately-owned operator of wi-fi communications towers within the US, and the world’s first tower firm to become carbon neutral, Vertical Bridge is thoroughly positioned to capitalise on the rising demand for 5G-enabled services.”
PINT is a closed-ended funding firm and an approved UK Investment Trust, listed on the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. The independent Board of Directors of PINT have appointed Pantheon, one of many main private markets funding managers globally, as funding manager.
PINT goals to present publicity to a global, diversified portfolio of high-quality infrastructure assets through constructing a portfolio of direct co-investments in infrastructure assets with strong defensive characteristics, typically benefitting from contracted money flows, inflation safety and conservative leverage profiles.
www.pantheon.com