Benzinga | Jan 18, 2022 04:16PM EST

Blackstone Acquires 35% Stake In Phoenix Tower International; No Financial Terms Disclosed

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) announced today that funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners ("Blackstone" or "the company") have purchased a 35% stake in Phoenix Tower International (PTI), a leading private cell tower platform in the Americas and Europe, from Manulife Investment Management.

Founded in 2013, Phoenix Tower International operates over 14,000 cell towers across 18 countries. PTI owns and operates high quality wireless infrastructure sites in markets experiencing strong wireless usage growth around the world. PTI's expansion is focused throughout the Americas and Europe. Commenting on the announcement, Greg Blank, Senior Managing Director in Blackstone's infrastructure business said, "We are thrilled to partner with Dagan Kasavana and the entire PTI team. Cell towers represent one of the highest-quality and most durable infrastructure asset classes given their mission critical nature and long-term growth tailwinds. We look forward to supporting PTI's continued growth and expansion by leveraging Blackstone's scale and resources."

Commenting on the announcement, CEO of Phoenix Tower International, Dagan Kasavana said, "There is a massive growth opportunity in the wireless infrastructure sector across the world, and I am pleased to have world-class partners from Blackstone on my team to continue to expand the business. We are excited to continue the growth journey for PTI with Blackstone Infrastructure."

Commenting on the transaction, Recep Kendircioglu, Head of Infrastructure Investments at Manulife Investment Management said, "The Manulife Investment Management team is pleased to have had the opportunity to partner with Dagan and the entire Phoenix Tower International team over the years. Our investment in PTI supported our goal to expand digital connectivity globally, and, together with the PTI team, we achieved a great outcome. We look forward to watching that growth continue through a new partnership."

Today's investment in Phoenix Tower International is the most recent example of digital infrastructure platform investments for Blackstone. Digital Infrastructure -- which enables mobile connectivity and cloud-based computing for the businesses driving today's economy -- has long been an area of focus for Blackstone, with COVID-19 accelerating the sector's growth and required investment. Most recently, Blackstone invested in QTS, a leading data center company and Hotwire, a leading provider of fiber-to-the-home in the United States.

Rothschild & Co acted as financial advisor to Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal advisor.