Edinburg-headquartered Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel) announced that it has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with Vertical Bridge Holdco to sell its tower portfolio and operations for USD 310.3 million in cash. Vertical Bridge is an operator of communications infrastructure and locations in the United States.
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Transaction Details
The Shentel Tower Portfolio being sold consists of 226 tower sites, including 218 macro cellular towers and 8 small cell sites, which generated USD 18.6 million in revenue, USD 9.5 million in operating income, and USD 11.6 million in Adjusted EBITDA in 2023. The transaction excludes one macro cellular tower that Shentel will retain, as Shentel announced last Friday.
Reportedly, Vertical Bridge will pay Shentel the USD 310.3 million purchase price on the date of the initial closing. Subsequent closings will occur as closing conditions are met for any remaining sites. The initial closing of the transaction is expected in March 2024.
"The proceeds from the sale of our Tower business will provide Shentel with additional growth capital to support the planned expansion of our Glo Fiber line of business to approximately 600,000 homes and business passings by the end of 2026. With the expected closing of this Transaction and the previously announced USD 356 million of committed financings supporting our pending acquisition of Horizon Telcom, we believe our capital structure is well balanced and will provide future financial flexibility," Shentel said.
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Vertical Bridge's Perspective
"We are pleased to add these purpose-built broadband telephony towers to our growing portfolio. The towers are high-quality assets with available capacity for additional tenants and are located in difficult areas to build new towers due to zoning restrictions and terrain challenges. The geographic concentration of the portfolio offers a unique opportunity for future deployment of existing and new technologies," said Vertical Bridge.
Shentel and Vertical Bridge
Shentel provides broadband services through fiber optic and cable networks to customers in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The company owns a regional network with approximately 9,900 route miles of fiber and 219 macro cellular towers.
Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Vertical Bridge has a portfolio of more than 500,000 sites, including over 11,000 owned and master-leased towers, spread across all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
