LONDON, Nov. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Colony,
a global investment firm focused on enabling the next generation of
mobile and internet infrastructure, today announced that an
affiliate has acquired Open Cell Ltd ("Opencell") and plans to
combine the newly acquired business with Stratto Ltd ("Stratto"), a
leading provider of premium DAS and small cell networks for indoor
mobile coverage in the U.K. The acquisition was funded by Digital
Colony's existing equity commitment to its U.K. in-building
wireless platform, and Digital Colony has increased its committed
capital to the platform as part of the transaction. Opencell's
owners/management will become shareholders in the combined company,
while Digital Colony will remain the majority shareholder.
Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
Opencell provides multi-operator indoor coverage for a variety
of customers, building types and sizes. Currently, Opencell has
over 2,000 live cells across 100 networks and benefits from strong
relationships with all four U.K. mobile network operators ("MNOs")
to deploy custom solutions for landlords and/or tenants using small
cell infrastructure. Opencell's seasoned management team includes
Graham Payne, Nick Brown, Paul
Graham and Chris Burke, all
of whom have strong telecom backgrounds and strong relationships
with the U.K. MNOs. They will remain significant stakeholders and
will combine with the Stratto management team to lead the expanded
in-building business.
"Opencell has an excellent reputation in the industry for
providing innovative small cell solutions to its diverse customer
base across various building types," said Richard Bourne,
Chief Executive Officer of Stratto. "Our two businesses and product
sets are highly complementary and combining them will allow us to
benefit from and strengthen each other's relationships with the
mobile operators as we look to expand our customer base and deliver
a broader range of small cell and DAS solutions."
"In a world where constant network connectivity is increasingly
a must-have service, the need for strong indoor mobile coverage
solutions is growing," said Graham
Payne, Chief Executive Officer of Opencell. "The combined
experience of Opencell and Stratto, along with Digital Colony's
operational execution track record, will allow us to deliver more
solutions ensuring you've got network. We are excited to be working
with the Stratto team and collectively enter the next phase of our
growth."
"Our goal from day one has been to build the leading digital
infrastructure platform that delivers exceptional indoor and
outdoor network solutions to the mobile network operators in the
U.K. Combining Opencell's capabilities and active networks with the
Stratto platform helps us accelerate those goals," said
Marc Ganzi, Managing Partner of
Digital Colony. "We look forward to continuing to strengthen our
relationships with our customers as well as positioning Digital
Colony's U.K. digital infrastructure platform as the recognized
leader in the small cell sector."
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP served as legal advisor to
Stratto and Digital Colony. Fieldfisher LLP served as legal advisor
to Opencell.
About Stratto
Stratto Ltd was established in October 2016 to meet
the growing demand for in-building mobile voice and data
connectivity. By working closely with the MNOs, Stratto provides a
solution to enterprise customers, industry verticals, property
developers, owners and managers. Stratto's executives are veterans
of the industry and have significant expertise launching and
scaling telecom, technology, network and service companies. Stratto
delivers a simple to consume, all-inclusive service which supports
all mobile operators: Great Mobile Service. Simply Delivered.
For more information, please visit Stratto.com.
About Opencell
Enabled by small cell technology and established in 2015,
Opencell is the first legal, multi-operator, indoor mobile signal
solution provider in the U.K. Working with all four U.K. MNOs,
Opencell deploys space-saving, bespoke, managed signal solutions,
ensuring that everyone indoors has network. Opencell's customers
include many of the U.K.'s leading hospitality and co-working
businesses. The management team is led by seasoned
telecommunications executives with decades of experience working at
and with the MNOs. For more information, please visit
opencell.co.uk or view our managed sites.
About Digital Colony
Digital Colony is focused on investing in the mobile and
internet infrastructure landscape worldwide including macro cell
towers, data centers, small cell networks, and fiber networks.
Digital Colony's strategic investments help meet the growing demand
for digital infrastructure capacity, which is driven by growth in
mobile data and video consumption, and the mega-trends of cloud
computing, big data analysis, IT outsourcing and e-commerce.
Digital Colony brings together the industry and investment
expertise of its two co-sponsors: Digital Bridge Holdings, LLC,
which has raised $8.4 billion of debt
and equity capital to build and acquire six digital infrastructure
businesses across the United
States, Mexico and
South America, as well as Colony
Capital, Inc. (NYSE: CLNY) which has 26 years of experience as a
global investment manager and $43
billion of assets under management across North America, Europe, Asia,
and the Middle East. The Digital
Colony executive leadership team has a history of successful
investments and management of digital infrastructure operations
across multiple platforms and continents for over two decades. For
more information, please visit DigitalColony.com
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SOURCE Digital Colony