Macquarie and Digital Bridge Holdings have pooled their tower assets in Mexico to form a joint venture operating as Mexico Tower Partners (MTP).
MTP is now managing more than 550 sites and is the second-largest towerco in Mexico, although it is some way…
Macquarie and Digital Bridge Holdings have pooled their tower assets in Mexico to form a joint venture operating as Mexico Tower Partners (MTP).
MTP is now managing more than 550 sites and is the second-largest towerco in Mexico, although it is some way behind American Tower which operates 3,000 towers in the country.
Macquarie is combining with its local Mexican Infrastructure Trust I (MMIF) fund, which owns Digital Bridge, in a 50/50 JV. It will look to both acquire and build towers.
Jonathan Davis Arzac, chairman of MMIF, said that the Mexican tower market had low levels of coverage and therefore it was a good opportunity, especially because of the growing demand for data and the plans of local telcos to deploy newer wireless technologies.
“Mexico’s telecommunication reforms are expected to result in more opportunities and a more competitive environment for new entrants,” added Davis Arzac. “We are confident that MTP is well placed to capitalize on these trends.”
Last year Macquarie and its minority partners sold Global Tower Partners (GTP), which was the largest privately-held towerco in the US, for US$4.8bn to American Tower.
The 199 Digital Bridge towers were carved out of GTP before the sale and the portfolio was transferred to Digital Bridge. GTP had acquired the sites from Telefonica in 2011.
