KKR to invest $100 million in wireless telecom infrastructure

Oct 28, 2013, 5:23pm EDT
KKR to invest $100 million in wireless telecom infrastructure

StaffNew York Business Journal

Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Inc. said it is partnering with investment firm Associated Partners L.P. to build wireless telecommunications infrastructure.

New York-based KKR (NYSE: KKR) will initially invest $100 million into the partnership, but it could contribute more later, according to the Wall Street Journal.

KKR said it has made minority investments in PEG Bandwidth, AP Wireless and AP Towers, all businesses managed by Associated Partners.

PEG Bandwidth builds and operates Ethernet backhaul networks connecting wireless communications towers to the data fiber backbone, principally in rural geographies. The company’s networks, the need for which is driven by significant increases in wireless data usage, typically replace aging copper lines that connect cell sites to wireless carriers’ core networks.

AP Wireless acquires interests in cell site ground and rooftop leases in the United States and abroad, and AP Towers develops new wireless telecom towers and buys selected towers currently in operation.

“The need for wireless infrastructure will continue to be driven by increases in wireless data usage that is overwhelming existing network capacity,” Raj Agrawal, KKR’s head of North American infrastructure, said in a statement. “We are excited about the opportunity to partner with Associated Partners to grow this premier set of businesses with critical telecom infrastructure assets.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/n...-wireless.html