Crown Castle Announces Agreement to Acquire FiberNet
November 01 2016 - 9:00AM
Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) (“Crown Castle”)
announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to
acquire FPL FiberNet Holdings, LLC and certain other subsidiaries
of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) (collectively, “FiberNet”) for
approximately $1.5 billion in cash (subject to certain limited
adjustments). FiberNet is a fiber services provider that owns or
has rights to approximately 11,500 route miles of fiber installed
and under construction in Florida and Texas, inclusive of
approximately 6,000 route miles of fiber in top metro
markets. Pro forma for the proposed acquisition, Crown Castle
will own or have rights to approximately 28,500 route miles of
fiber.
“The addition of FiberNet’s complementary
footprint in top metro markets in South Florida and Texas bolsters
our fiber available for small cells in markets where we see
significant demand from our wireless carrier customers,” said Jay
Brown, Crown Castle’s Chief Executive Officer. “As demand for
wireless connectivity continues to grow, small cells are playing an
increasingly important role in adding the network capacity and
density needed to provide ubiquitous high-speed, high-capacity
wireless services. With a long runway of expected growth
ahead for small cells, we believe our investment in FiberNet
further strengthens our leading position in small cells and will
enhance our long-term dividend growth.”
Crown Castle expects the acquisition to close in
the first half of 2017 and to be immediately accretive to Adjusted
Funds from Operations (“AFFO”) per share upon closing. In the
first year of Crown Castle’s ownership, the transaction is expected
to contribute approximately $105 to $110 million to gross margin
and approximately $15 to $20 million of general and administrative
expenses. Additionally, the transaction includes
approximately $5 million in annual cash flows associated with a
customer lease that will be accounted for as a financing lease and
therefore not contribute to the expected gross margin.
Supplemental materials related to the transaction have been posted
on the Crown Castle website at http://investor.crowncastle.com.
ABOUT CROWN CASTLE
Crown Castle provides wireless carriers with the
infrastructure they need to keep people connected and businesses
running. With approximately 40,000 towers and 17,000 miles of
fiber supporting small cells, Crown Castle is the nation's largest
provider of shared wireless infrastructure with a significant
presence in the top 100 U.S. markets.
Cautionary Language Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking
statements that are based on Crown Castle management’s
expectations. Such statements include plans, projections and
estimates regarding (1) the anticipated FiberNet acquisition,
including timing, (2) potential benefits of the FiberNet
acquisition, including with respect to Crown Castle’s competitive
position, the impact on dividends and the contribution to or impact
on Crown Castle’s financial or operating results, including AFFO
per share, revenues, gross margin, and general and administrative
expenses, (3) Crown Castle’s fiber assets, (4) the role of and
demand for small cells, (5) wireless carrier network deployments,
investment and expenditures, (6) mobile data demand and growth and
(7) demand for, potential growth of and opportunities which may be
derived from the FiberNet assets. Such forward-looking statements
are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions,
including prevailing market conditions and other factors. Should
one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those expected. More information about potential
risk factors that could affect Crown Castle and its results is
included in Crown Castle’s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The term “including,” and any variation thereof, means
“including, without limitation.”
Contacts: |
Dan Schlanger, CFO |
|
Son Nguyen, VP & Treasurer |
|
Crown Castle International Corp. |
|
713-570-3050 |
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