ATN International closes $268m tower sale, trims 2026 EBITDA outlook
ATN International has completed the initial closing on the sale of its Southwestern US tower portfolio, receiving $268 million in cash from EIP Holdings IV, an affiliate of Everest Infrastructure Partners. The transaction, executed through ATN's subsidiary Commnet Wireless, marks a significant step in the Beverly, Massachusetts-based telecoms and digital infrastructure operator's strategy to reshape its balance sheet and focus on connectivity services.
Chief executive Naji Khoury said the net proceeds from the initial closing were broadly equivalent to the company's annual Adjusted EBITDA, adding that the liquidity injection would allow ATN to pursue "disciplined capital allocation" and invest in opportunities that support long-term shareholder returns. ATN will use $68 million of the initial proceeds to repay outstanding borrowings under its CoBank revolving credit facility.
Deal mechanics
The transaction is structured in tranches. Beyond the initial $268 million, ATN expects to receive up to an additional $30 million in proceeds over the following twelve months, contingent on construction and operational milestones being met at sites not transferred at initial closing. The deal's staged structure reflects a common approach in tower portfolio disposals, where assets under development or pending regulatory clearance are transferred separately once conditions are satisfied.
ATN has revised its full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance downward to reflect the loss of tower revenue. The company's previously stated range of $190 million to $200 million has been reduced by $7 million to $183 million to $193 million, with the remaining seven months of the year also expected to see consolidated revenues fall by $3 million and operating income by $4 million. The guidance revision is a direct mechanical consequence of the disposal rather than a signal of underlying operational deterioration.
Market context
The sale reflects a broader trend of integrated telecoms operators divesting passive infrastructure — towers, ducts, and fibre conduits — to specialist infrastructure funds in order to recycle capital into active network services and broadband expansion. In the US, similar strategies have been pursued by the major carriers, with tower assets now predominantly owned by dedicated real estate investment trusts or private infrastructure vehicles such as American Tower, Crown Castle, and SBA Communications.
ATN operates in an unusual niche: it focuses on rural and remote markets in the continental United States and the Caribbean, where population density is too low to attract mainstream carrier investment but where government broadband subsidy programmes — including the federal BEAD initiative — are directing significant capital. Divesting towers to a specialist operator arguably makes strategic sense, freeing ATN to concentrate on managed connectivity services and fibre build-outs where government contracts provide more predictable revenue.
Everest Infrastructure Partners, the acquiring entity, is an infrastructure-focused investor with a portfolio of US tower and wireless infrastructure assets. The acquisition of Commnet's Southwestern US portfolio extends its rural tower footprint at a time when demand for rural cell-tower capacity is rising, driven by FirstNet public-safety broadband expansion and ongoing 5G densification.
Outlook
Investors will watch for progress on the remaining milestone-contingent closings and whether ATN deploys the freed capital into fibre or broadband acquisitions. The CoBank facility repayment reduces near-term interest burden and preserves headroom for further capital allocation decisions. ATN's Caribbean operations remain outside the scope of this transaction and continue to represent a meaningful share of consolidated revenue.