Crown Castle Stock Rises as Firm Solds Fiber Optics Unit at $8.5B

Key Takeaways

• Crown Castle sold their fiber optics business for a total amount of $8.5 billion to EQT Active Core Infrastructure Fund and Zayo Group Holdings.
• The provider of towers, other communications infrastructure and other services said it would use the money to pay off debt and launch a buyback program for its stock.
• Crown Castle has also reduced its dividends by $2.01 per share.

Crown Castle’s (CCI) stock soared by almost 10% Friday. This comes a day following the sale of its fiber optics division to the EQT Active Core Infrastructure and privately-held Zayo Group Holdings funds for a combined amount of $8.5 billion.

The deal has EQT acquiring Crown Castle's small cells operations, while Zayo picks up the fiber solutions business. The transaction should close in the second half of 2026.

Crown Castle explained that the money will be used to “pay off existing debt and fund anticipated share purchases, positioning the company to keep an investment grade rating.” The company said that the new stock-buyback program will be worth about $3.0 billion.

The move came after the company announced a strategic and operating review of the unit in December 2023, "with the goal of enhancing shareholder value."

Crown Castle also announced a fourth-quarter profit of $10.97 per common share, whereas Visible Alpha’s analysts were expecting a loss. The $1.65billion revenue was in line with expectations. It will also reduce its annual dividend from $6.26 to $4.25 in the second quarter, and reset it after the close of the fibre sale.

Even with today's gains, shares of Crown Castle remain down nearly 4% over the past year.

CORRECTION—This article has been updated to reflect that EQT Active Core Infrastructure fund is unaffiliated with EQT Corp.