Oct 6 (Reuters) – AT&T said on Tuesday it would form a fiber joint venture with BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, as America’s largest fiber provider looks to expand faster across more US communities.
Here are more details:
• The joint venture will combine Forged Fiber 37 and Gigapower. Forged Fiber 37 is the AT&T unit holding the fiber assets and operations it bought from Lumen Technologies. Gigapower is AT&T’s existing wholesale fiber venture with GIP.
• AT&T will own 50% of the venture, and GIP and CPP Investments will together own the other 50%.
• The venture gives AT&T a “capital-light” path to expand fiber beyond its traditional service areas, into major metro areas across 16 states.
• AT&T expects to receive proceeds when the deal closes but did not say how much. It plans to use the money to help bring its net-debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio to about 2.5 times within roughly three years, fund investment in the business and return capital to shareholders.
• The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
(Reporting by Anzar Mehraj in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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