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Crown Castle to Sell Fiber, Small Cell Businesses for $8.5B

Telecommunications REIT Crown Castle Inc. is exiting its fiber and small cell businesses for a total of $8.5 billion to become a pure-play tower company. EQT Active Core Infrastructure fund will acquire the small cells business and Zayo Group Holdings Inc. will take the fiber solutions business. The two deals are expected to close in the first half of 2026.

In a statement, Houston-based Crown Castle said the sales represent “a unique opportunity to enhance shareholder value by providing focused exposure to what we believe to be the best market for wireless infrastructure in the world, which is expected to continue to experience increasing demand for wireless data that is expected to drive tower growth for years to come.” The company has a portfolio of about 40,000 towers nationwide.

The company launched a fiber review committee in December 2023 to explore options for the business. Upon closing of the sales, Crown Castle will launch a $3-billion share repurchase.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

  • ◦Sale/Acquisition
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