American Tower Announces $3.5B Acquisition Of InSite Wireless

American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) announced today that they have entered into an agreement to acquire InSite Wireless Group (“Insite”) for what is being reported in the amount of $3.5B. InSite Wireless Group is listed by Airwave Advisors as the sixth largest cell tower in the United States. American Tower Corporation is and will remain the largest cell tower company in the United States with approximately 40,000 cell towers.

The portfolio purchase will add approximately 1,400 owned towers in the United States, 200 owned towers in Canada and approximately 70 DAS networks in the United States. InSite also controls more than 600 land parcels under communications sites as well.

The transaction is valued at 30x tower cash flow, a high multiple for today’s market. The high multiple is likely attributed to the low cost of capital in today’s market, as well as the limited amount of large portfolio acquisition opportunities. The transaction is excepted to close by the end of 2020.

Who Is American Tower Corporation?

Founded in 1995, as a subsidiary of American Radio, American Tower Corporation grows through acquisitions. In 1998 American Tower is spun off into a separate company and goes public on the New York Stock Exchange as AMT.

Fast forward to 2020 and American Tower Corporation is the largest holder of cell towers in the United States with approximately 40,000 cell towers. Globally they have 181,000 sites and are in 20 countries.

Who Is InSite Wireless?

Founded in 2000, InSite Wireless Group was the second largest privately owned cell tower company in the United States. Their headquarters is in the Washington D.C. metro area.