DigitalBridge Group Inc.’s plans to sell Southeast Asian telecom tower operator EdgePoint Infrastructure have reportedly stalled due to disagreements over valuation, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Discussions regarding the potential sale have paused.

However, the US-listed DigitalBridge continues to explore other options, including breaking up the business or pursuing partial sales.

Initially, the company sought a valuation of up to US$4 billion for EdgePoint, but negotiations with interested parties, including I Squared Capital, did not reach a conclusion.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Tower valuation complexities create deal friction in volatile markets

The disagreement over EdgePoint’s valuation reflects the broader challenges in telecom tower valuations, which typically rely on multiples of Tower Cash Flow (TCF), annual lease revenues minus operating expenses.

These multiples vary significantly based on tower characteristics, with mature towers trading at 10-20x TCF while newer towers with growth potential command 30-40x multiples 1.

In volatile market conditions, this creates natural tension between sellers and buyers, as evidenced by DigitalBridge’s initial $4 billion valuation target failing to align with potential buyers’ assessments.

Tower valuations are particularly sensitive to interest rate environments, as they’re long-term assets with predictable cash flows. This makes the current economic climate especially challenging for reaching consensus on fair value.

The stalled EdgePoint deal mirrors broader industry dynamics where infrastructure valuation expectations have struggled to adjust to new market realities, despite digital infrastructure’s continued importance as an investment category.

2️⃣ Southeast Asian tower assets face unique market challenges despite global infrastructure demand

EdgePoint’s operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines represent a specific segment of the global tower market that carries distinct risks compared to more mature markets.

The global telecom tower landscape has evolved significantly, with 2.95 million of the world’s 4.41 million towers now owned by independent tower companies rather than mobile operators, demonstrating the broader industry shift toward specialized ownership 2.

Tenancy ratios—a key value driver measuring how many carriers lease space on each tower—average 1.62x globally for independent tower companies versus less than 1.1x for operator-owned towers, highlighting the efficiency potential that investors seek 2.