AMP Capital adds telco infrastructure to its portfolio



AMP Capital’s Infrastructure Debt team has announced it has closed a US$200 million mezzanine debt investment with Vertical Bridge, a private owner of telecommunications tower infrastructure in the US.
The company said this investment would sit within its Infrastructure Debt Fund III (IDF III) which recently closed to new investment after reaching its hard cap of US$2.5 billion.
AMP Capital infrastructure Debt’s principal, Patrick Trears, commented: “This transaction represents a key milestone for our business and adds a terrific asset to the portfolio for our investors.
“We see the North American telecommunications infrastructure space as particularly attractive right now, and expect it will be a driver of future growth for our platform.
“The facility for Vertical Bridge is designed primarily to support its future M&A activity, and highlights AMP Capital’s ability to structure bespoke solutions that are valued by some of the top infrastructure companies in the region.”
Vertical Bridge was set up in 2014 and owns or leases towers, rooftops, billboards, utility attachments and other site location assets, which are then leased to telecommunications carriers and other users of wireless technology.
AMP Capital also said that it managed to secure an additional US$1.6 billion for co-investment and other commitments as part of the fundraise.
“We attracted a number of new clients from North America for IDF III including commitments from some of Canada’s large pension funds. Infrastructure debt meets their investments objectives because it offers an attractive yield with capital stability,” Trears said.
“We are pleased to have invested in another high-quality asset to deliver on this strategy for our clients.”
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