BOCA RATON, Fla.—Global Towers Partners dashed speculation in the media indicating that the privately owned tower company is for sale.
The company’s chief executive, Marc Ganzi, stated in an e-mail, “The stories of our impending sale for $1.5 billion were wildly false and exaggerated. Management and the Blackstone Group have every intention of growing this business.”
GTP is owned by Blackstone Group L.P., and, media reports had indicated last week that the buyout firm was exploring its options of either selling the GTP or filing for an initial public offering.
Speculation as to the future of both SBA Communications Corp. and GTP has run rampant since Crown Castle International Corp’s recent announcement that it’s buying Global Signal Inc. for about $5.8 billion in stock and cash. Should the deal go through, CCI will command more than 24,000 towers, enough to knock American Tower Corp. out of its No. 1 position. AMT could regain its status if it buys SBA or GTP.
Ganzi added that GTP is expanding, adding, “We like the environment now—more than ever—with one less competitor around.”
SBA owns about 7,200 towers, while Global Tower Partners owns around 2,180.
Last week, GTP announced plans to buy Midwest Tower partners L.L.C. for an undisclosed amount of money. GTP said it expects the sale to provide the company with an additional 83 towers and to close during the fourth quarter of this year.
