RBR.com reports that tower owner Vertical Bridge finalized the closing of $196 million initial principal amount of Series 2016-2 Secured Tower Revenue Notes in a private asset-backed securitization transaction.

The notes have an anticipated repayment date of October 2021 and final legal maturity of October 2046. The proceeds of this offering will be used to fully repay the existing credit facility on the 407 tower sites in its portfolio.

Issued by Vertical Bridge CC, the notes were issued in two classes consisting of $174.2 million initial principal amount of Class A notes and $21.8 million initial principal amount of Class B notes.

The notes were priced with an annual yield to expected maturity of 5.25% for the Class A notes and 7% for the Class B notes.

“This issuance reflects the high quality of the radio broadcast towers we have acquired and the long term stability of cash flows resulting from the mission-critical role that tower infrastructure plays in the delivery of media and communications,” Alex Gellman, CEO and Co-Founder of Vertical Bridge, said in prepared remarks. “Together with our founding investors, Digital Bridge, we have been accessing the securitization market for nearly a decade.”

Insider note – Vertical Bridge has a partnership with Clear Channel Outdoor giving Vertical Bridge exclusive rights to antenna and small cell site deployment across clear Channel’s footprint. Our Readers might remember our interview with Alex Gellman back in October 2015.  

The Company indicated they plan to have additional securitizations to support continued growth.

The securities are collateralized by tenant lease payments on its tower site portfolio.

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