Companies Make Case for Crown Castle's Buy of Lightower
The parties involved in Crown Castle’s proposed buy of Lightower from Berkshire Partners, Pamlico Capital and other investors told the FCC the $7.1 billion cash transaction is in the public interest. The deal, announced in July (see 1707190020), will mean…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
quicker deployment of wireless broadband, they told the FCC. Lightower’s dense metropolitan fiber footprint “is well-located and has ample capacity to accommodate significant small cell opportunities with the backing of Crown Castle’s small cell platform experience,” they said. “Financial, technical, and managerial resources that CCIC [Crown Castle] will bring to Licensees are expected to enhance the ability of Licensees to compete in the telecommunications marketplace,” said an application. “The existing network and systems of Licensees will enhance the ability of CCIC’s other indirect subsidiaries to serve their customers.” Customers won’t be affected negatively, the companies said. “Licensees will continue to provide service at the same rates, terms, and conditions, as governed by existing contracts,” the filing said. “The Transaction will be transparent to customers because the only change immediately following the closing from a customer’s perspective is that ultimately CCIC will be the new indirect owner of Licensees.” The deal will mean quicker deployment of wireless broadband, the companies told the FCC.