Investment in a US Digital Infrastructure Company

RNS Number : 0576H

Pantheon Infrastructure PLC

04 April 2022

 

4 April 2022

NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR TO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN OR ANY MEMBER STATE OF THE EEA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

PANTHEON INFRASTRUCTURE PLC

Investment in a US Digital Infrastructure Company

Pantheon Infrastructure PLC ("PINT" or the "Company"), the listed global infrastructure fund, has invested $30m (£23m at current exchange rates) in US wireless communication infrastructure operator Vertical Bridge, through a co-investment vehicle managed by DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE:DBRG) ("DigitalBridge"), a leading global digital infrastructure investor managing $45bn in digital infrastructure assets.

Vertical Bridge is the largest private owner and operator of tower and wireless communication infrastructure in the US, with a portfolio of more than 8,000 towers and 300,000 total sites. Its portfolio, which spreads across all 50 states and in Puerto Rico, includes towers, rooftops, billboards, utility attachments and other locations that support wireless network connectivity.

Vertical Bridge has rapidly expanded since its founding in 2014 and is well-positioned to continue this growth as it addresses the rising demand for 5G-enabled devices and services. Vertical Bridge is certified as carbon neutral, becoming in 2020 the world's first tower company to achieve net-zero emissions.

The digital infrastructure sector has transitioned from being niche to a core sub-sector in recent years and is benefitting from strong secular tailwinds fuelled by the growth in mobile data consumption, migration to the cloud and the deployment of high-speed networks.

Richard Sem, Partner at Pantheon Ventures, PINT's investment manager, said: "We are pleased to have made an investment in a sector that is experiencing such strong tailwinds, and alongside a sponsor in DigitalBridge with an excellent track record investing in this space. As the largest privately-owned operator of wireless communications towers in the US, and the world's first tower company to become carbon neutral, Vertical Bridge is very well placed to capitalise on the growing demand for 5G-enabled services."

For further information, contact: 

Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP Investment Manager Richard Sem, Partner Ashley Wassall, Head of Client Communications	[phone] [e-mail] [e-mail]
Investec Bank plc Corporate Broker Tom Skinner (Corporate Broking) Lucy Lewis, Denis Flanagan (Corporate Finance)	[phone]
TB Cardew Public relations advisor Ed Orlebar Tania Wild Max Gibson	[phone] [e-mail] [phone] [phone] [phone]

Notes to editors

PINT

PINT is a closed-ended investment company and an approved UK Investment Trust, listed on the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange's Main Market.  The independent Board of Directors of PINT have appointed Pantheon, one of the leading private markets investment managers globally, as investment manager. PINT aims to provide exposure to a global, diversified portfolio of high-quality infrastructure assets through building a portfolio of direct co-investments in infrastructure assets with strong defensive characteristics, typically benefitting from contracted cash flows, inflation protection and conservative leverage profiles.

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Pantheon

Pantheon is a leading global private equity, infrastructure & real assets, private debt and real estate investor with 40 years' experience sourcing and executing private market investment opportunities on behalf of clients. Pantheon has $82.1 billion in assets under management and advice (as at 30 September 2021) and employs approximately 400 staff, including more than 115 investment professionals across offices in London, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Seoul, Bogotá, Tokyo, Dublin and Berlin.

 

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