Washington, D.C.-based Airtower Networks, which designs, builds, owns, and operates indoor wireless networks, has received an equity investment from DIF Capital Partners to support it in developing a nationwide platform.
The transaction will be the first investment in the DIF CIF (Climate Investment Fund) III fund. DIF Capital Partners is a global independent fund manager that invests in a broad range of greenfield and operational infrastructure companies and assets. The investment will enable Airtower to expand its wireless network solutions.
Airtower, which was rebranded from the name Wave Wireless in 2019, uses several technologies, including cellular, next-generation WiFi, private LTE, and public safety networks nationwide, and its clients include mobile network operators, commercial building developers, enterprises, and government organizations.
“DIF believes that the ongoing trend of cloud migration, where companies store their data and interact with their customers, vendors, and partners in the cloud, will further increase the need for high-speed wireless internet connections,” said Willem Jansonius, Partner and Head of Investments for the DIF CIF strategy. “Similarly in the residential and office space, ubiquitous 5G is essential for the new generation of smart buildings.”
DIF Capital Partners has $10.5 billion in assets under management across nine closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. The group invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia. DIF CIF funds target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.
Greenhill & Co served as financial advisor and DLA Piper acted as legal counsel to Airtower. Bank Street Group served as exclusive financial advisor and White & Case acted as legal counsel to DIF.
Airtower’s last round of funding came in January 2021 from Lumerity Capital, a private equity firm focused on investments in cloud and data infrastructure.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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