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St. Louis-based AAT Communications Corp. announced today that
it has closed on approximately $180 million of equity capital,
which has been raised from current and new investors, including:
Charterhouse Group; affiliates of Sandler Capital Management;
The Oklahoma Publishing Company; and WallerSutton 2000, LP.
The new funds will be used to help AAT expedite its growth
plan through acquisitions and build-to-suit tower projects.
"This new investment illustrates the opportunity that
equity sources see in AAT as a leading consolidator in the
wireless tower sector. It also validates our business philosophy
of forming and honoring long-term relationships," said
Jerald L. Kent, Chief Executive Officer of AAT and of Cequel
III, the management company overseeing AAT's operations. "Cequel
III's managers have had productive partnerships with Charterhouse
Group and other investors involved in this transaction for
many years prior to our involvement with AAT, and we are proud
to continue working with these institutions in the context
of one of our most promising ventures."
Since Cequel III's appointment as AAT's management company
in May 2002, AAT has expanded five-fold the number of towers
it owns (from roughly 300 to more than 1,500 sites).
The Company is presently in active negotiations or scheduling
construction for several hundred additional tower sites. In
total, AAT's portfolio includes more than 7,500 sites, spanning
48 states, counting both the properties it owns and those
it manages.
"This build-up investment is consistent with Charterhouse's
strategy of backing management teams with outstanding track
records. We are very pleased to be investing additional capital
in AAT, further supporting a team that we have successfully
partnered with in multiple ventures over the last twenty years,"
said Thomas C. Dircks, Managing Partner of Charterhouse Group.
"Our manager-partners are very effectively implementing
our original business plan in this attractive industry segment.
We are also very excited about the addition of three value-added
investors as new partners in AAT."
"The tower industry offers a combination of characteristics
that appeal to us, notably strong growth potential and the
generation of high, free cash flow," said Michael Marocco,
Managing Director of Sandler Capital Management. "With
the successful completion of this financing round, AAT is
in a unique position to take advantage of consolidation opportunities
within the sector and to address build-to-suit growth opportunities,
as wireless carriers continue to extend the coverage and capacity
of their networks."
"We are excited to support Jerry Kent and his teams at
AAT and Cequel III," said Jack Woodruff, Partner of WallerSutton
2000, LP. "With its large existing base of sites under
management, strong balance sheet, and experienced executives,
we believe AAT is very well-positioned to become the undisputed
leader in the wireless tower sector."
In 1998, Charterhouse Group became the original private equity
investor in AAT and, following this latest financing round,
remains AAT's controlling shareholder. Charterhouse introduced
the Cequel III management team to AAT in 2002, based on a
twenty-year relationship with Jerry Kent, Howard Wood, and
other Cequel III executives.
TD Securities was the sole advisor to AAT on this transaction
and acted as the private placement agent.
Founded in 1950, St. Louis-based AAT is the nation's largest
privately held provider of wireless tower sites, serving major
wireless carriers and a premier group of site-management clients.
Please reference
the next page for background information on the AAT investors
noted in this news release.
Listed in Alphabetical Order
Charterhouse Group is a private equity
firm with three decades of experience in building leading
middle- market companies. Established in 1973, Charterhouse
currently manages in excess of $1.3 billion in equity through
several limited partnerships. Since its inception, Charterhouse
has invested in over 80 platform companies with a focus on
the business services, healthcare services, telecommunications,
consumer products, and industrial sectors.
For more information, please visit www.charterhousegroup.com.
Sandler Capital Management, a registered
Investment Advisor, has managed both hedge funds and private
equity funds since 1980 and 1989, respectively. The firm has
$1.5 billion in combined assets under management and uninvested
commitments (including approximately $350 million of uninvested
committed capital for new private equity investments). Sandler's
private equity effort focuses on three core industry sectors:
traditional media, telecommunications/data communications,
and enterprise communications. Within its areas of industry
expertise, Sandler employs a multi-stage investment strategy.
Sandler's investment professionals have over 200 years of
combined experience as research analysts, portfolio managers,
financial advisors, investment bankers, and private equity
investors.
For more information, please visit www.sandlercap.com.
The Oklahoma Publishing Company ("OPUBCO")
of Oklahoma City is a 100-year-old diversified holding company.
Current businesses include: The Oklahoman (the state of Oklahoma's
only newspaper with statewide distribution); the internationally
recognized 5 star, 5 diamond Broadmoor Hotel and Spa in Colorado
Springs; Gaylord Sports Management (representation of professional
athletes); OPUBCO Development Company (real estate development);
Deepwater Holdings LLC (subsurface water rights); and OPUBCO
Resources (oil and gas interests), among others. Selected
assets of OPUBCO were used to form Gaylord Entertainment Company
(NYSE), which was taken public in 1991. Those assets included
the Opryland Hotel in Nashville; The Grand Ole Opry; and certain
cable operations, which later formed TNN and CMT. OPUBCO was
also one of the initial investors in Charter Communications.
WallerSutton 2000, LP ("WallerSutton")
is a $165 million private equity fund focused on the media
and communications industries. WallerSutton seeks to leverage
its broad array of relationships - in cable television, broadcasting,
publishing, outdoor media, new media, information technology,
and other communications and technology businesses and services
- to support the growth and management of its portfolio companies.
For more information, please visit www.wallersutton.com.
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