Phoenix Tower International, an independent tower company, today announced it has closed a three-tranche debt financing facility for up to €775m ($940m) with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a Canadian pension fund, and AMP Capital, an infrastructure fund. Currently, Phoenix Tower’s equity sponsors are Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and John Hancock Life Insurance.
Use of Proceeds from CDPQ, AMP – Phoenix Tower
Overall, the debt financing is a multi-jurisdiction facility, which will be used to fund Phoenix Tower’s international expansion. Firstly, the debt facility will be used to fund Phoenix Tower’s pending acquisitions in Europe, which include 815 towers in Malta and Cyprus. Secondly, the debt financing could, in-part, fund the company’s various build-to-suit (BTS) programs to construct new tower sites in Europe. Indeed, this tower construction relates to 4G and 5G build-outs on behalf of Phoenix Tower’s customers.
Finally, the debt from CDPQ and AMP provides Phoenix Tower with substantial additional capacity to support further growth in both existing and new markets worldwide. For example, Phoenix Tower has recently expanded in several countries in Latin America, such as Colombia and Mexico.
Transaction Advisors – Phoenix Tower, CDPQ, AMP Capital
Phoenix Tower’s legal advisor was Locke Lord. Additionally, CDPQ and AMP Capital’s legal advisor was Norton Rose Fulbright.
Phoenix Tower – Overview
Phoenix Tower owns and operates over 12.5k towers, 613 route miles (986 route kilometers) of fiber, and markets over 80.0k other wireless infrastructure sites. Specifically, this digital infrastructure portfolio spans 16 countries throughout Europe, the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Infrastructure Debt Funds – CDPQ and AMP Capital
CDPQ
CDPQ is one of the world’s largest global institutional investors in infrastructure. Specifically, the pension fund has net assets of $30bn Canadian dollars ($23.7bn U.S. dollars), in this sector.
Today’s announcement closely follows CDPQ’s acquisition of a 30% stake in American Tower’s operations in Europe for €1.6bn. Indeed, both transactions showcase CDPQ’s appetite for towers and, in particular, within the European market.
AMP Capital
AMP Capital has $22bn of infrastructure equity and debt assets under management (AUM). Notably, in October 2019, AMP Capital announced the final close of its AMP Capital Infrastructure Debt Fund IV at $6.2bn.
