Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), part of BlackRock, and CPP Investments have agreed to form a new US fibre joint venture with AT&T, giving the two investors a combined 50% stake.\n\nThe venture brings together Forged Fiber 37, a subsidiary AT&T created to house the fibre network acquired from Lumen Technologies in February, and Gigapower, the wholesale fibre joint venture AT&T already runs with GIP. Combined, they will operate as a wholesale fibre company offering open access to its network. CPP Investments, joining as a new partner, framed the deal as a long-term infrastructure play.\n\nThe joint venture is central to AT&T’s plans to expand beyond its traditional footprint.
It will build fibre in major metropolitan areas across 16 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and Washington, supporting AT&T’s goal of reaching more than 60 million fibre locations by the end of 2030. AT&T will use the proceeds to bring net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio down to around 2.5x within three years and fund investment.\n\n“By partnering with leading digital infrastructure investors, we see significant opportunity to strengthen our scale advantage in fiber,” said John Stankey, chairman and chief executive of AT&T. Once the deal completes, AT&T will no longer consolidate the joint venture’s results and will report its share of equity income in earnings.
Source: PE Insights · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing