Yesterday, InSite Wireless Group announced it acquired 294 communication tower sites from CTI Towers. This transaction increases InSite’s portfolio to more than 1,200, making them one of the largest privately owned U.S. tower companies. David E. Weisman, President and CEO of InSite said, “We felt that it [the portfolio] was an excellent group of tower assets with a good upside and a good group of carriers.” While the CTI Towers deal was fairly large, the company makes many acquisitions throughout the year. “The announcement we made with respect to CTI was a larger acquisition, but we acquire tower assets throughout the year,” Weisman explained. “We’ll buy a few towers or we’ll buy many towers. Our company has been very active in the wireless business since 2006, and we’ve done numerous transactions.” InSite is involved in many aspects of the tower industry, from construction to DAS to ground lease purchases. “We build new towers in greenfield. We also have a platform for DAS and small cells that we own and operate probably in the mid 20s of some of the leading public venues in the country.” InSite has installed DAS systems throughout the Boston Subway System, they are currently building out the L.A. Metro System, and Target Field in Minnesota. “We also have a division that acquires land under towers,” Weisman said. “So we’re multi-faceted with an emphasis on communication towers in the U.S.”
The company continues to grow, but they will remain privately-owned for the foreseeable future. “I think right now we’ll continue on with private investors,” Weisman said. “We think that at the right time we’ll consider any options that make sense for our shareholders and our investors. Right now we don’t see any need to access the public marketplace.” Which makes sense as the tower industry is booming. “If you look at all of the demands coming out for broadband use, mobility, and wireless devices, and the expansion of those devices, there’s a continued growth in that sector,” Weisman said. “So we think the wireless infrastructure sector of the economy, and our business is excellent, and that we’ll continue to grow. We’re dependent on our customers and their needs, but I think everyone who utilizes wireless devices, the new growth of M2M, and the densification going on because of the bandwidth demand are all drivers of growth in our industry.”
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