Founding Shareholders Exit Vertical Bridge After Successful Seven-year Investment
August 10, 2021 09:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Jordan Company, the infrastructure business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Stonepeak Partners, founding shareholders in Vertical Bridge Holdings, LLC, today announced the sale of their interests in the business following a successful seven-year investment. Financial details of the sale transaction were not disclosed.
Vertical Bridge is the largest private owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure and locations in the United States. Since its inception in 2014, Vertical Bridge has completed more than 300 acquisitions and grown its portfolio to more than 308,000 sites, including over 8,000 owned and master-leased towers and the nation's largest and tallest collection of broadcast tower sites.
"I could not be more proud of the talented team at Vertical Bridge that has driven our significant growth and scaled our platform to meet the evolving needs of our customers," said Alex Gellman, CEO and Co-Founder of Vertical Bridge. "We are grateful for the strategic support and resources The Jordan Company, Goldman Sachs and Stonepeak have provided as we have grown the business and built innovative infrastructure solutions for customers. We look forward to the next chapter for Vertical Bridge in partnership with institutional investors who have embraced our private, permanent and at scale growth strategy for the business."
"We're proud to have been part of the company's journey since inception, which has been characterized by best-in-class leadership, substantial platform expansion and industry leading growth," said Eion Hu, Partner at The Jordan Company.
"We have really enjoyed partnering with the Vertical Bridge team on this journey and we wish them the best as they continue to drive growth and build value," said Leonard Seevers, Managing Director within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
"Our partnership with Alex and the Vertical Bridge team is the culmination of a long-held, shared conviction in the increasing criticality of wireless infrastructure and successful execution of our strategy in the sector," said Brian McMullen, Senior Managing Director at Stonepeak.
The transaction is subject to various regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
ABOUT VERTICAL BRIDGE
Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC is the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure and locations in the United States, with a portfolio of more than 500,000 sites, including over 11,000 owned and master-leased towers and the nation’s largest and tallest collection of broadcast tower sites. The Company’s portfolio spreads across all 50 states and Puerto Rico and is comprised of towers, rooftops, billboards, utility attachments, convenience stores and other locations in support of wireless network deployments. In addition to colocation, Vertical Bridge offers build-to-suit, edge data centers and in-building wireless network solutions.
Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Vertical Bridge was founded in 2014 and is led by a senior management team with over 400 years of collective experience in tower infrastructure and related sectors. Vertical Bridge became the first tower company in the world to achieve the CarbonNeutral® company certified status in 2020 and has been recertified every year since. For more information, please visit www.verticalbridge.com.
ABOUT THE JORDAN COMPANY
The Jordan Company, founded in 1982, is a middle-market private equity firm with original capital commitments in excess of $16 billion with a 39-year track record of investing in and contributing to the growth of many businesses across a wide range of industries. The senior investment team has been investing together for over 20 years, and they are supported by the Operations Management Group, which was established in 1988 to initiate and support operational improvements in portfolio companies. Headquartered in New York, TJC also has an office in Chicago. For more information, visit www.thejordancompany.com.
ABOUT GOLDMAN SACHS ASSET MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE
Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world's leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market-overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of June 30, 2021. Driven by a passion for our clients' performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Established in 2006, the Infrastructure business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management has consistently navigated the evolving infrastructure asset class, having invested approximately $13 billion in infrastructure assets across market cycles since its inception. We partner with experienced operators and management teams across multiple sectors, including digital infrastructure, energy transition, transportation & logistics and essential services. Follow us on LinkedIn.
ABOUT STONEPEAK
Stonepeak is a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets with approximately $37 billion of assets under management. Through its investment in defensive, hard-asset businesses globally, Stonepeak aims to create value for its investors and portfolio companies, and to have a positive impact on the communities in which it operates. Stonepeak sponsors investment vehicles focused on private equity and credit. The firm provides capital, operational support, and committed partnership to sustainably grow investments in its target sectors, which include communications and digital infrastructure, transport and logistics, water, energy transition, and power and renewable energy. Stonepeak is headquartered in New York with offices in Houston, Austin and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit https://stonepeakpartners.com/.