Northleaf Capital Partners has announced it has invested C$100 million ($69.5m) into Canadian telecoms infrastructure developer Shared Tower Inc.
It appears that the investment firm has acquired the stake in Shared Tower previously held by 3i Group plc, which announced separately that it had sold its stake in Shared Tower.
Ontario-based Shared Tower was set up in 2021 by its CEO Dan Gibbons to develop carrier-neutral communications infrastructure in Canada.
The company builds and operates towers and passive fiber networks for wireless carriers.
Northleaf stated that its investment in Shared Tower is "an excellent fit" for the company's infrastructure strategy.
“We believe in Shared Tower’s vision of a flexible, solutions-based approach to addressing network needs through a shared infrastructure model that benefits end consumers and service providers,” said Chris Rigobon, managing director at Northleaf.
“With a demonstrated track record of reliable project execution and delivery, Shared Tower is well-positioned to partner with its customers to enhance connectivity in one of the fastest growing developed markets in the world.”
To date, Northleaf has committed US$8 billion in capital for its infrastructure program. It has invested across more than 50 middle-market infrastructure assets, predominantly in North America.
In 2023, Northleaf signed a strategic partnership with Tillman FiberCo worth $500 million.
As for 3i, the company initially invested in Shared Tower in 2022, becoming the firm's first institutional investor.
According to 3i, the investment supported Shared Tower's expansion, while it claims that Shared Tower tripled the size of its tower portfolio and successfully expanded into other passive network infrastructure solutions.
