Zayo entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Crown Castle’s Fiber Solutions business in a transaction valuing the business at approximately USD 4.25 billion.
“We are strategically investing in expanding and enhancing our country’s critical network infrastructure to meet the demands of hyperscalers, data centers, enterprises and carriers that will facilitate the growing AI economy,” said Steve M. Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Zayo.
“This acquisition strengthens our ability to deliver the reliable, low-latency, high-capacity fiber solutions our customers need to scale in an increasingly data-driven world, and furthers our commitment to providing world class customer service and solutions.”
This acquisition advances Zayo’s strategic focus on investing in the critical fiber infrastructure that will support the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) across the United States and drive economic acceleration, allowing enterprises to scale, compete and thrive in an increasingly digital world. Crown Castle’s complementary metro-focused fiber assets extend Zayo’s reach into strategically important geographies and will work hand-in-hand with the company’s existing long-haul networks to connect data centers across the country, enabling mission-critical connectivity in cities and rural communities nationwide.
With the Crown Castle assets, Zayo will provide enterprises with improved access to the networks that power cloud computing and AI, adding approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber to Zayo’s network and increasing its overall reach to more than 70,000 on-net locations.
By strengthening the United States’ fiber foundation, this transaction will look to drive efficiencies, unlock opportunities in new and growing AI corridors and create the resilient digital infrastructure necessary for the nation’s sustained economic and technological leadership. Zayo has spent more than USD 20 billion over the past five years on fiber infrastructure across the country and intends to continue investing billions in expanding the AI ecosystem in the United States through a robust fiber broadband solutions buildout, supporting the country’s role as a global leader in AI.
“As AI reshapes industries and accelerates economic transformation, this transaction underscores the vital nature of fiber and the critical role it plays as the backbone of innovation, productivity and market growth,” said Marc Ganzi, Chief Executive Officer of DigitalBridge. “With Crown Castle’s robust metro-focused assets, Zayo will be well-positioned to fuel AI adoption, enhance connectivity solutions and accelerate technological progress. We look forward to continuing to support Zayo as it helps to position the United States as a global powerhouse for AI and strengthen the country’s industrial capabilities.”
“AI is creating growing demand for data processing power and seamless connectivity that is pushing fiber infrastructure to the center of the global economy. With this transaction, Zayo is taking decisive action to help ensure our country remains competitive on the global stage,” said Jan Vesely, Partner at EQT. “The addition of Crown Castle’s Fiber Solutions business is a strategic move to help fortify the United States’ AI-driven future by delivering the bandwidth, scalability and reliability required for next-generation applications.”
“The companies and nations that lead in AI will be those that invest ambitiously in high-performance digital infrastructure. Zayo is doing exactly that, building the foundation necessary to support the next wave of global innovation, economic acceleration and technological progress.”
Transaction Details
As part of the transaction, Zayo will acquire Crown Castle’s Fiber Solutions business while the EQT Active Core Infrastructure fund will independently acquire Crown Castle’s Small Cells business, as communicated in a separate transaction announcement. Concurrent with the acquisitions, Zayo and the Small Cells business will enter into a long-term commercial agreement for Zayo to provide fiber to the Small Cells business. The total combined value of the Fiber Solutions and Small Cells transactions is USD 8.5 billion.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.
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