Brazilian Bidding War

Seeking Alpha reported that Macquarie Group is also in talks to acquire the Brazilian cell tower operator Grupo TorreSur, with a reported bid that exceeds $1 billion including debt. Grupo TorreSur owns and operates more than 6,000 towers. American Tower is also in a “full-fledged sales process run by Providence Equity Partners,” Seeking Alpha noted. Providence Equity Partners is the tower company’s owner, and they have been receiving interest in the assets since last summer. American Tower entered the Brazilian market in 2000, and currently owns about 6,900 towers. Reuters noted, “Macquarie, Australia’s top investment bank, is no stranger to investments into telecom infrastructure. Last month it led a group of investors in the acquisition of Crown Castle International Corp’s Australian tower portfolio for $1.6 billion. Through investments in tower assets, Macquarie is sticking with its strategy of investing in relatively low-risk, annuities-style assets with stable returns.”