NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 2004--GE Commercial Finance Global Media & Communications announced today that it was the co-arranger and co-documentation agent in a $325 million senior debt facility for AAT Communications Corp. (AAT), the nation's largest privately held provider of wireless tower sites. The facility closed July 16.
Founded in 1950, AAT serves major wireless carriers and a premier group of site-management clients with nearly 1,800 wireless tower sites and 6,500 managed sites spanning 48 states. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, with regional offices in Iselin, NJ; Chattanooga, TN; Milwaukee; Dallas, and Las Vegas. Charterhouse Group International and Sandler Capital are lead equity investors in AAT, with Cequel III.
GE Commercial Finance committed to and underwrote $65 million of the facility. AAT will use the financing to refinance existing debt and to fund future acquisitions and new tower development.
"This facility provides us with financial flexibility to further advance our business and accelerate our acquisition activities," said Mary Meduski, executive vice president and chief financial officer of AAT. "Having worked with GE for several years, we view this transaction as further evidence of GE's strong commitment to our organization."
"As a previous lender to AAT, we are pleased to be playing a continuing role in the success of the company," said Mark DeCruccio, managing director, GE Commercial Finance Global Media & Communications. "The tower sector is an ongoing focus for our group, and this transaction represented an opportunity for us to leverage that focus on behalf of one of the sector's premier companies."
About GE Commercial Finance Global Media & Communications
With over $6 billion in assets and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Delhi, London, New York, Norwalk, and San Francisco, Global Media & Communications represents a "one-stop" source for the comprehensive range of GE's lending and other structured finance services offered to the media, communications, and technology industries. Key segments include radio and television broadcasting, cable, entertainment, movie theatres, outdoor advertising, publishing, technology, towers, wireless, and wireline. GE Commercial Finance, which offers businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services, has assets of over $220 billion and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. General Electric (NYSE: GE) is a diversified technology, media and financial services company dedicated to creating products that make life better. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
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