Crown Castle scoops up Global SignalCrown Castle scoops up Global Signal

Communications tower and infrastructure firm Crown Castle International said Friday it has agreed to buy rival Global Signal in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $5.8bn (£3bn).

The transaction will result in Crown Castle owning over 24,000 wireless sites around the US. The merger is expected to generate cost synergies of between $12m and $15m annually, which are expected to be realized within 12 months after closing.

“The complementary nature of our US portfolios will result in a high-quality, diversified customer base, with 76 per cent of site rental revenues from the four largest US wireless carriers,” said John Kelly, Crown Castle’s chief executive officer.

Based on pro forma results for both companies as of June 30, the combined company will have approximately $16bn in total enterprise value, annualised site rental revenues of $1.2bn and annualised Adjusted EBITDA of $659m.