AT&T to form fiber joint venture with BlackRock's GIP, CPP Investments

Oct 6 (Reuters) - AT&T ‌said on ​Tuesday ​it would form a fiber joint venture with BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners ‌and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, as ⁠America's largest fiber provider looks to expand faster across ‌more US communities.

Here are ‌more details:

• The joint venture will combine Forged Fiber 37 and Gigapower. Forged Fiber 37 ​is the AT&T unit holding the fiber assets and operations it bought from Lumen ⁠Technologies. Gigapower is AT&T's existing wholesale fiber venture with GIP.

• AT&T ​will own 50% of the venture, and GIP and CPP Investments will together ​own the other 50%.

• ‌The venture gives AT&T a "capital-light" path to expand fiber beyond its traditional ⁠service areas, into major metro areas across 16 states.

• AT&T expects to receive proceeds when the deal ⁠closes but did not say how much. It plans ​to use the money to help bring its net-debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio to about 2.5 times within roughly three ‌years, fund investment in the business and return capital to shareholders.

• The ‌deal is expected to close in the first ⁠half of 2027, ‌subject to regulatory ​approvals and customary closing conditions.

(Reporting by Anzar Mehraj in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika ‌Syamnath)

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