Opportunities in Horizontal Tower Companies

Some refer to the world of fiber because horizontal tower companies as the cell towers we know and love wouldn’t function without backhaul. Zayo, a company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, provides fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure services and carrier-neutral co-location. Colby Synesael of Cowen and Company wrote in a research note that as investors become more familiar with the company, they expect the stock to undergo meaningful multiple expansion while strong secular tailwinds and additional M&A likely drive upside to estimates the next few years. “Our report includes a detailed overview of the fiber industry that is meant to contrast today’s environment with that of 15 years ago including 1) how significant consolidation has rationalized pricing, 2) how the current competitive landscape looks at the market, 3) what makes a network valuable including connection points, uniqueness of routes, and scale/breadth, 4) why dark fiber is now a good business and arguably deserving of a higher multiple, and 5) why investors should be thinking more about a durable stream of returns than pricing when deciding if this is a good business,” Synesael explained. Zayo trades at 11.1x calendar 2015 estimated EBITDA vs. the competition, which trades at 8.7x calendar 2015 estimated EBITDA.