An international group of investors led by Macquarie Renaissance Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) has agreed to invest US$100m in Russian Towers, an independent developer and operator of telecoms towers.
MRIF, jointly managed by Macquarie and Renaissance,…
An international group of investors led by Macquarie Renaissance Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) has agreed to invest US$100m in Russian Towers, an independent developer and operator of telecoms towers.
MRIF, jointly managed by Macquarie and Renaissance, said in a statement it will contribute US$50m to the equity investment round, while Russian Towers’ current shareholders – UFG Private Equity and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development – have already invested US$15m.
MRIF, which claims to be the first major private fund dedicated to investing directly in infrastructure in Russia and other key Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) markets, said it has agreed to acquire newly-issued shares in Russian Towers to support its regional expansion.
According to MRIF, the investment round should enable Russian Towers to expand its tower park from about 300 to more than 1,000 over the next three to four years.
MRIF CEO, Damian Secen, described the investment case for towers in the Russian market as “compelling”, saying “[m]obile penetration is very high and there is rapidly-growing demand for reliable network coverage”.
Founded in 2009, Russian Towers has towers operating and under construction in more than 20 regions nationwide, according to its website. UFG and EBRD became major shareholders in 2010.
An initial investment round, led by Russian Tower’s founders, UFG and EBRD, closed in 2010.
