2026 shortlist

BlackRock

Blackstone

DigitalBridge

KKR

Macquarie Asset Management

Oak Hill Capital

Stonepeak

Quynh Tran
SMBC

Dan Seltzer
MUFG

Rich Myers
Morgan Stanley

Kevin Curtin
JPMorgan

Valtin Gallani
Societe Generale

Cecile Baker
TD Securities

Alexander Ramirez
Guggenheim Partners

Calvin Lam
Morgan Stanley

Garrett Baker
Lazard

James Henry
Bank Street

Jason Tofsky
Goldman Sachs

Scott Wilcoxen
JPMorgan

Alessandro Lombardi
Elea Data Centers

Andrew Schaap
Aligned Data Centers

Charley Daitch
Rowan Digital Infrastructure

Kenny Gunderman
Uniti Group

Sureel Choksi
Vantage Data Centers

Andrew Thomas
Stonepeak

Anton Moldan
Macquarie Asset Management

Mike Forman
Blackstone

Scott Baker
Oak Hill Capital

Waldemar Szlezak
KKR

Will Brilliant
Global Infrastructure Partners

Davis Polk

Kirkland & Ellis

Latham & Watkins

Milbank

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Aligned Data Centers

Edged

Ezee Fiber

Fidium Fiber

Rowan Digital

Switch

Aman Mittal, Managing Director,
Moelis

Brian O'Connell, Executive Director,
Morgan Stanley

Joe Malca, Managing Director,
Centerview

Lauren Miller, Managing Director,
Morgan Stanley

Sam Rudik, Partner,
Simpson Thacher

Sotirios Delimaris, Vice President,
MUFG

Steve Houlihan, Managing Director,
Bank Street

Jeffrey Butler, Principal,
Oak Hill Capital

Madelyn Brennan, Principal,
DigitalBridge

Michael Borchetta, Managing Director,
Harrison Street Asset Management

Sapna Sirohi, Managing Director,
Goldman Sachs Asset Management

EdgeConneX's US$3bn power and datacentre dual financing

The US$3bn construction financing for a 224MW hyperscale datacentre campus known as Project Walleye in New Albany, Ohio, paired with a dedicated 365MW on-site natural gas power plant and 170MW of battery storage, operating as an islanded, behind-the-meter microgrid, for EQT-backed datacentre operator EdgeConneX.

Banks and Lenders: Natixis, MUFG, Société Générale, RBC - report, SMBC – report (Coordinating Lead Arrangers)

Legal Advisors: A&O Shearman (Borrower), Milbank (Lenders)

Hut 8’s US$3.25bn Senior Secured Notes Issuance for Louisiana 

The US$3.25bn offering of 6.192% senior secured notes due 2042 to finance Hut 8's River Bend AI datacentre campus in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, financing 245MW of critical IT capacity.

Banks and Lenders: J.P. Morgan (Lead Bookrunner), Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley (Joint Bookrunners)

Legal Advisors: Milbank (Hut 8)

Meta and Blue Owl Capital's US$27.3bn SJV Project Beignet 

The US$27.3bn structured joint venture between Meta Platforms and funds managed by Blue Owl Capital to develop the Hyperion AI datacentre campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana, a 2.1GW campus spanning 2,700 acres.

Lenders: PIMCO

Financial Advisors: Morgan Stanley (Exclusive Financial Advisor to Meta, Sole Bookrunner)

Legal Advisors: Latham & Watkins (Meta), Eversheds Sutherland (Meta, Leasing), Fenwick (Meta, Tax), Kirkland & Ellis (Blue Owl Capital), Milbank (Morgan Stanley), Dorsey & Whitney (Wilmington Trust), Clifford Chance, Greenberg Traurig (PIMCO)

Related Digital’s Senior Secured Notes Issuance for Michigan 

The US$14bn offering of 7.500% senior notes due 2045 to finance Related Digital's US$16bn hyperscale datacentre campus ("The Barn") in Saline Township, Michigan, a three-building, 1GW+ campus.

Financial Advisors: Bank of America (Structuring Agent and Financial Advisor), Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo.

Legal Advisors: Kirkland & Ellis (Related Digital), Greenberg Traurig (PIMCO)

STACK Infrastructure’s US$18bn Project Miner project financing 

The US$18.01bn project financing for STACK Infrastructure/Blue Owl Digital Infrastructure's Project Miner datacentre campus in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, a 1.28GW campus across four datacentre assets, each financed under separate non-recourse facilities, for STACK Infrastructure/Blue Owl Digital Infrastructure.

Banks and Lenders: SMBC (Administrative Agent and Structuring Bank), MUFG (Documentation Agent), ING (Sustainability Coordinator), BNP Paribas (Co-Structuring Agent), BBVA, Banco Santander, CoBank, Crédit Agricole CIB, Citi, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs AM, Intesa Sanpaolo, JPMorgan Chase, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Natixis, OCBC, RBC, SMBC, Société Générale, TD Securities, Truist, Wells Fargo

Legal Advisors: Kirkland & Ellis (Sponsor), Skadden (Borrower's Counsel), Milbank (Lenders)

Switch’s US$2.6bn Syndicated Letter of Credit Facility 

The US$2.6bn syndicated performance letter of credit facility for Switch, structured to support power procurement and transmission/generation infrastructure across its gigawatt-scale campuses.

Banks and Lenders: BBVA and Natixis CIB (Structuring Banks, Initial Coordinating Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners; Natixis also Administrative Agent), BNP Paribas, Citibank and Société Générale (Coordinating Lead Arrangers), CIBC, Rabobank, RBC, Scotiabank and SMBC (Joint Lead Arrangers), Standard Chartered (Mandated Lead Arranger)

Legal Advisors: Milbank (Switch), Greenberg Traurig (Switch, local NV counsel), Paul Hastings (Natixis and Issuing Banks)

Vantage Data Centers' US$22.75bn Texas raise 

The US$22.75bn project financing for Vantage Data Centers' Project Jacquard campus in Shackelford County, Texas, a 1.4GW, 10-building datacentre development forming part of the Stargate AI programme.

Banks and Lenders: MUFG, JPMorgan, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Société Générale, Wells Fargo (Initial Coordinating Lead Arrangers); Bank of America, BMO Capital Markets, Crédit Agricole CIB, Citi, DBS Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho, Natixis, OCBC, RBC, Banco Santander, Scotia, Standard Chartered, TD Securities, Truist (Sub-underwriters)

Legal Advisors: White & Case (Borrower), Milbank (Lenders)

C3ntro’s US$70m Project TIKVA financing

The US$70m syndicated project financing facility to support construction of C3ntro Telecoms’ Tikva network, a new long-haul dark fiber network spanning 2,700 kilometers and linking hyperscale datacenters in Querétaro, Mexico, and Phoenix, Arizona.

Lenders: Proparco; DEG

Legal Advisors: Milbank (Borrowers); Galicia Abogados (Borrowers); Clifford Chance (Lenders); Nader, Hayaux & Goebel (Lenders)

Elea Data Centers’ acquisition by I Squared Capital

The acquisition by I Squared Capital of a majority stake in Elea Data Centers.

Financial Advisors: Banco Bradesco BBI S.A., UBS BB Serviços de Assessoria Financeira e Participações and BTG Pactual (Sell Side)

Legal Advisors: Davis Polk & Wardwell (Sell Side); Pinheiro Neto Advogados (Sell Side); Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (Buy Side); Mattos Filho (Buy Side)

IHS Towers’ sale of I-Systems to TIM

IHS Towers’ sale of its 51% stake in Brazilian fiber-network operator I-Systems to TIM, which already owned the remaining 49%, giving TIM full ownership.

Financial Advisors: JPMorgan (Sell Side); Santander (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Mello Torres Advogados (Sell Side); Pinheiro Neto Advogados (Buy Side)

OnNet Fibra Chile's US$1.1bn dual-tranche USPP

The US$1.1bn USPP comprised a US$825m 7-year senior secured OpCo tranche and a US$276mm 7-year senior secured HoldCo tranche.

Banks and Lenders: JPMorgan, Scotiabank and Santander (Placement Agents)

Legal Advisors: A&O Shearman

SBA's acquisition of Millicom's tower portfolio in Central America

SBA Communications’ acquisition of Millicom International Cellular S.A.'s tower portfolio of approximately 7,000 towers in Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador and Nicaragua for a total consideration of c.US$975m.

Financial Advisors: JPMorgan and Lazard (Sell Side); Goldman Sachs (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Winston & Strawn (Sell Side); Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (Buy Side)

Telefónica’s sale of Telefónica Móviles Chile

The sale of Telefónica’s Chilean subsidiary, Telefónica Móviles Chile, to a jointly controlled acquisition vehicle owned 51% by NJJ and 49% by Millicom, in a transaction valued at US$1.2bn.

Financial Advisors: Citi (Sell Side)

Legal Advisors: Latham & Watkins (Sell Side); Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uria (Sell Side); Pérez-Llorca (Buy Side – NJJ); Skadden (Buy Side – NJJ); Barros & Errazuriz (Buy Side – Millicom)

Bluebird Fiber's US$384.6m acquisition of Everstream

Sale through an in-person auction of Everstream, resulting in Bluebird Fiber acquiring substantially all of the company’s assets and operations for US$384.6m.

Financial Advisors: Bank Street (Sell Side M&A); PJT Partners (Sell Side IB); Alvarez & Marsal (Sell Side restructuring); TD Securities (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Weil, Gotshal & Manges (Sell Side); Richards, Layton & Finger (Sell Side Special Counsel); Kirkland & Ellis (Buy Side)

CVC DIF’s acquisition of SBA Communications' Canadian tower business

CVC DIF's DIF Infrastructure VIII fund's acquisition of SBA Communications' Canadian towers business for CAD446 (c.US$323.7m), exiting SBA from the region.

Financial Advisors: Pinpoint Capital Advisors (Sell Side); TD Securities (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Goodmans (Sell Side); Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo (Buy Side)

DigitalBridge and Arclight US$500m investment in Takanock

The US$500m investment in Takanock from DigitalBridge and ArcLight, to develop integrated digital infrastructure and electrification infrastructure.

Financial Advisors: Houlihan Lokey (Sell Side)

Legal Advisors: Vinson & Elkins (Sell Side); Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (Buy Side - DigitalBridge); Kirkland & Ellis (Buy Side - ArcLight)

Ezee Fiber’s acquisition of Tachus from Crosstimbers

The acquisition of Tachus Fiber by I Squared Capital-owned Ezee Fiber, expanding Ezee's service footprint in Greater Houston.

Financial Advisors: Bank Street (Sell Side)

Legal Advisors: Latham & Watkins (Sell Side); Sidley Austin (Buy Side)

Metronet's acquisition of US Internet

Metronet's acquisition of US Internet, marking the buyer's first deal since its own acquisition by a JV of T-Mobile and KKR.

Financial Advisors: Bank Street (Sell Side); TD Securities (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Kirkland & Ellis (Sell Side); Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (Buy Side - Metronet); Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (Buy Side - T-Mobile)

RadiusDC’s US$650m acquisition of PhoenixNAP's datacentre and colocation business

The US$650m acquisition of PhoenixNAP's Phoenix datacentre and colocation business by RadiusDC, including development rights for future campus expansion.

Financial Advisors: BofA Securities (Sell Side); JPMorgan (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Sell Side); Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (Buy Side Transaction Counsel); Snell & Wilmer (Buy Side Local Counsel)

IQ Fiber's US$250m greenfield expansion financing

For SDC Capital-owned IQ Fiber's US$250m financing to fund greenfield fiber deployment and strategic tuck-in M&A.

Banks and Lenders: SMBC (Structuring Bank, Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent); JPMorgan

Legal Advisors: Milbank (Lenders); Kirkland & Ellis (Loan Parties); Morgan Lewis & Bockius (Loan Parties, Regulatory); Rifkin Weiner Livingston (Loan Parties, Maryland); SGR Law (Loan Parties, Florida and Georgia); Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd (Loan Parties, South Carolina)

LiveOak Fiber's US$425m growth financing

For the US$425m credit facility for InfraRed Capital Partners-backed FTTH provider LiveOak Fiber, provided by Oak Hill Advisors (OHA) and Palistar Capital to support network expansion across the Southeast US.

Financial Advisors: JPMorgan (Structuring Agent)

Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance (LiveOak, InfraRed); Milbank (OHA, Palistar Capital)

Metronet's US$1bn wholesale ABS financing

For the US$1bn Section 4(a)(2) private placement completed in connection with the T-Mobile and KKR joint venture's acquisition of Metronet, structured as the first fiber ABS built around a wholesale, rather than direct-consumer, revenue base.

Banks and Lenders: Barclays, Morgan Stanley, TD Securities, BofA Securities, MUFG, Mizuho, SMBC, ING, BNP Paribas, Scotiabank, Goldman Sachs (Placement Agents)

Legal Advisors: Kirkland & Ellis (Metronet); King & Spalding (Placement Agents); Latham & Watkins (Note Purchasers)

OnNet Fibra Chile's US$1.1bn USPP

For OnNet Fibra Chile’s secured US$1.1bn financing through a dual-tranche US private placement, comprising an US$825m seven-year senior secured OpCo tranche and a US$276m seven-year senior secured HoldCo tranche.

Banks and Lenders: JPMorgan, Scotiabank, Santander (Placement Agents)

Legal Advisors: A&O Shearman

Uniti Group's US$960m Kinetic securitization

For Uniti’s inaugural US$960.1m Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of secured fiber network revenue term notes by Kinetic ABS Issuer, comprising US$677.71m Class A-2, US$112.96m Class B and US$169.43m Class C notes, secured by certain fiber network assets and residential customer contracts in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Texas.

Banks and Lenders: Barclays (Lead Structuring Agent and Lead Left Bookrunner); Morgan Stanley (Joint Structuring Agent and Joint Active Bookrunner); BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs (Joint Active Bookrunners); Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities, JPMorgan, RBC Capital Markets, TD Securities (Joint Passive Bookrunners)

Legal Advisors: Davis Polk (Uniti Group); King & Spalding (Initial Purchasers)

Zayo's US$4.1bn Crown Castle acquisition financing

For the US$4.1bn financing supporting Zayo's acquisition of Crown Castle's Fiber Solutions business, comprising a US$3.2bn senior ABS warehouse facility and a US$900m junior warehouse facility (~91% loan-to-value).

Banks and Lenders: Morgan Stanley (Administrative Agent); Citi (Collateral Agent and Verification Agent); Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, TD Securities, RBC, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, ING, Natixis, Citi, UBS, Citizens (Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners)

Legal Advisors: Simpson Thacher (Zayo/DigitalBridge); King & Spalding (Crown Castle)

AT&T’s acquisition of Lumen's mass markets FTTH business

For AT&T’s US$5.75bn acquisition of Lumen Technologies’ Mass Markets fibre-to-the-home business across 11 US states.

Financial Advisors: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan (Sell Side) Morgan Stanley (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Latham & Watkins (Sell Side), Sidley Austin (Sell Side, antitrust counsel), Gibson Dunn (Buy Side), Arnold & Porter (Buy Side, antitrust)

Sale of Crown Castle's fibre solutions businesses to Zayo

For Crown Castle’s US$4.25bn sale of its fibre solutions business to Zayo.

Financial Advisors: Morgan Stanley, Bank of America (Sell Side), PJT Partners, J.P. Morgan, and UBS (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison (Sell Side), Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett (Buy Side)

Oak Hill Capital’s sale of Metronet to KKR and T-Mobile JV

For the acquisition of Metronet by a joint venture between T-Mobile and KKR, including the acquisition of Oak Hill Capital’s existing stake, with Oak Hill reinvesting to retain a minority position.

Financial Advisors: Bank Street Group, TD Securities (Sell Side, Metronet), Lazard (Sell Side, Oak Hill), Barclays and Morgan Stanley (Lead Buy Side, KKR), Goldman Sachs, Mizuho and MUFG (Buy Side, KKR) Citigroup Global Markets (Buy Side, T-Mobile)

Legal Advisors: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Polsinelli (Sell Side, Metronet), Simpson Thacher (Buy Side, KKR), Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Davis Wright (Buy Side, T-Mobile), Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, DLA Piper and Milbank (Buy Side, T-Mobile’s regulatory counsel)

Blackstone's Sale of Hotwire to Brookfield Infrastructure

For Brookfield Infrastructure’s strategic investment in Hotwire Communications and acquisition of Blackstone’s stake in the US fibre broadband provider.

Financial Advisors: Goldman Sachs, Barclays (Sell Side)

Legal Advisors: Latham & Watkins (Sell Side), Paul Weiss (Buy Side)

Verizon’s acquisition of Frontier Communications

For Verizon’s US$20bn acquisition of Frontier Communications, adding 2.2 million fibre subscribers and expanding Verizon’s network reach to 25 million premises across 31 states and Washington, D.C.

Financial Advisors: PJT Partners, Barclays (Sell Side), Centerview Partners, Morgan Stanley (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (Sell Side – Frontier) Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (Sell Side - Strategic Review Committee), Debevoise & Plimpton (Buy Side)

Bell Canada’s acquisition of Ziply Fiber

For Bell Canada’s approximately CAD7bn acquisition of Ziply Fiber, marking Bell’s first major acquisition in the United States.

Financial Advisors: Evercore, Goldman Sachs, Bank Street (Sell Side) Barclays (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (Sell Side), Davis Wright Tremaine, (Sell Side – Regulatory), Wiley (Sell Side – Regulatory), Stikeman Elliott LLP, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (Buy Side)

Meta and Blue Owl’s JV to develop the Hyperion datacenter campus 

For the US$2.3bn equity investment which forms part of the total US$29.5bn financing package for Meta and Blue Owl’s 5GW Hyperion datacenter campus.

Financial Advisors: Morgan Stanley (Meta)

Legal Advisors: Latham & Watkins (Meta); Eversheds Sutherland (Meta); Kirkland & Ellis (Blue Owl) 

Blackstone and Quinbrook’s US$10bn recapitalization of Rowan Digital Infrastructure 

For the US$10bn strategic recapitalization of Rowan Digital Infrastructure by Blackstone and Quinbrook, with Blackstone acquiring a significant minority stake in the hyperscale datacenter platform.  

Financial Advisors: Goldman Sachs (Sell Side); Evercore (Sell Side) 

Legal Advisors: Kirkland & Ellis (Sell Side); Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (Buy Side) 

Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ acquisition of a stake in QScale 

For Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ acquisition of a stake in QScale, alongside a reinvestment by QScale’s founders and management team 

Financial Advisors: Scotiabank (Sell Side); TD Securities (Sell Side); Macquarie Capital (Buy Side); National Bank Capital Markets (Buy Side) 

Legal Advisors: Fasken Martineau DuMoulin (Sell Side); BCF (Sell Side); Vinson & Elkins (Buy Side); Stikeman Elliott (Buy Side)  

Snowhawk and Nuveen’s strategic equity investment in Prime Data Centers 

For Snowhawk and Nuveen’s strategic equity investment in Prime Data Centers, joining existing institutional investors Macquarie Capital, Ares Management, and Siemens Financial Group.

Financial Advisors: Guggenheim (Sell Side); Moelis (Sell Side) 

Legal Advisors: Goodwin Procter (Sell Side); Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (Sell Side); Kirkland & Ellis (Buy Side)  

Apollo’s acquisition of Stream Data Centers 

For Apollo’s acquisition of a majority stake in Stream Data Centers, including more than 4GW of future capacity and over 650MW of near-term powered capacity across the US.  

Financial Advisors: Goldman Sachs (Sell Side); Moelis (Buy Side) 

Legal Advisors: Akin Gump (Sell Side); Latham & Watkins (Buy Side)

Igneo Infrastructure Partners’ acquisition of Vault Digital Infrastructure's portfolio 

For Igneo Infrastructure Partners’ acquisition of Vault Digital Infrastructure’s entire seven-property portfolio, covering approximately 75MW of capacity, from a JV of CVC DIF, Northleaf, and Landmark Dividend. 

Financial Advisors: Wells Fargo (Buy Side); BofA Securities (Buy Side) 

Legal Advisors: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (Sell Side); Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (Buy Side) 

Sale of Crown Castle’s small cells solutions business to EQT

For the c.US$4.25bn sale of Crown Castle’s small cells business to EQT’s Active Core Infrastructure fund.

Financial Advisors: Morgan Stanley, Bank of America (Sell Side); TD Securities (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (Sell Side); Kirkland & Ellis (Buy Side)

Harmoni Towers’ US$620m wireless tower private placement

For Palistar Capital-backed Harmoni Towers’ inaugural US$620m 4(a)(2) private placement financing.

Financial Advisors: TD Securities (Structuring Agent); TD Securities, Goldman Sachs (Joint Lead Placement Agents)

Legal Advisors: Kirkland & Ellis

SBA Communications’ CAD$446m sale of its Canadian tower business to CVC DIF

For the sale of SBA Communications’ Canadian wireless tower business, including approximately 500 owned and managed wireless communication sites, to CVC DIF for approximately CAD$446m.

Financial Advisors: Pinpoint Capital Advisors (Sell Side) TD Securities (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Goodmans (Sell Side); Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo (Buy Side)

TELUS’ CAD1.26bn sale of a 49.9% equity interest in each of Terrion LP to La Caisse

For the sale of a 49.9% stake in TELUS’ telecom tower unit Terrion to La Caisse for approximately CAD1.26bn.

Financial Advisors: TD Securities (Sell Side) National Bank Financial Markets (Buy Side – financing)

Legal Advisors: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, A&O Shearman (Sell Side); Stikeman Elliott (Buy Side)

TowerPoint Infrastructure Partners’ inaugural US$386m securitization

For TowerPoint Infrastructure Partners’ over-subscribed inaugural US$386m securitization

Financial Advisors: TD Securities (structuring advisor and active bookrunner); JPMorgan (passive bookrunner)

Legal Advisors: Davis Polk & Wardwell

KKR’s US$1.5bn strategic investment in Vertical Bridge

For Vertical Bridge’s US$1.5bn preferred equity investment from KKR, with participation from existing investors DigitalBridge and La Caisse.

Financial Advisors: Centerview Partners (Sell Side); Barclays and Houlihan Lokey (Buy Side)

Legal Advisors: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (Sell Side); Kirkland & Ellis (Buy Side)