SoftBank is establishing a joint venture with Lendlease Group to develop and own telecom infrastructure assets in the US, where the Japanese group owns mobile operator Sprint. Lendlease Towers will focus on partnering with major US carriers to roll out further phases of their infrastructure expansion plans. The aim is to create a geographically diverse portfolio of rooftop and tower assets through both a development and an acquisition-based strategy.
Lendlease and SoftBank have each committed USD 200 million equity to the joint venture and will also look to introduce capital partners. The initial USD 400 million will fund the acquisition and strategic restructure of approximately 8,000 existing telecom sites. Lendlease Towers will target USD 5 billion of telecom infrastructure assets over the medium term.
Lendlease has been appointed the joint venture manager, asset manager and development manager. The company already works with SoftBank in Japan.
