DigitalBridge has launched a tender offer to acquire Japanese tower company JTower in a take-private deal. Bloomberg reports that the proposal offers a 152% premium, valuing JTower at approximately JPY93 billion ($630 million).
According to an exchange filing, JTower’s founder and president, Atsushi Tanaka, along with NTT and its mobile unit NTT Docomo, will tender their combined 26% stake. The offer, set at JPY3,600 per share, is valid from August 15 to October 10.
In a statement, JTower highlighted the increasing challenges in the Japanese telecommunications industry due to the deployment of new communication technologies like Beyond 5G and 6G. “The burden on telecommunications carriers is expected to continue to increase due to the expansion of the coverage area required not only for disaster response and rural areas on land but also for the sky, sea, and outer space.”
JTower emphasized the growing need to enhance indoor and outdoor network efficiency through infrastructure sharing. The company believes that infrastructure sharing business operators with sufficient systems and technical capabilities are essential for the telecommunications industry’s development.
The company said it anticipates the need for flexible funding to support capital investment and system reinforcement in its indoor infrastructure sharing and tower businesses. They pointed out challenges in raising funds through the stock market due to share-price conditions and the market’s tendency to prioritize short-term profitability.
JTower noted that DigitalBridge has indicated its willingness to provide additional equity capital to support the company’s growth after it goes private. “Through the tender offer, we expect that we will be able to raise funds for growth in an agile and stable manner from DigitalBridge,” JTower added.
The collaboration aims to strengthen JTower’s management base and contribute to the Japanese telecommunications industry’s development. JTower also plans to maintain its partnership with existing capital and business alliance partners NTT, NTT Docomo, and KDDI post-tender offer.
