Agenda
TMT M&A Deal Talk: Which Deals are Next?
By Thomas Simpson, Americas Editor, TMT Finance
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Opening Visionary Keynote Speech: Assessing the next wave of TMT M&A
With Kevin Smithen, Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer, DigitalBridge
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Digital Infrastructure & Services Leaders Panel: Strategies for capturing the next phase of growth
Moderated by Richard S. Lukaj, Senior MD, Bank Street Group
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Gerald Marshall, President & CEO, Netrality Data Centers
Katherine Motlagh, EVP and CFO, CyrusOne
Igor Leprince, Group CEO, BAI Communications
As we enter a critical period of investment, dealmaking and buildout across the digital infrastructure sector, operators and investors must find new ways to compete and develop value – and so meet the demand for faster, more powerful connectivity. The leaders driving that wave of activity discuss where the market is heading.
· Who is leading investment in digital infrastructure and services, and how is the sector responding to shifting market dynamics?
· How is M&A impacting the sector, which flagship deals are expected to get done, and where will the next battlegrounds be?
· What are the growth prospects for each of the core pillars of infrastructure: towers, data centers, fiber and small cell? Are we seeing new core pillars emerge?
· How are tailwinds such as cloud adoption, IoT, the edge, 5G and AI driving activity in an increasingly converged digital ecosystem? Who can take advantage?
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Leadership Fireside Chat: Creating Long-Term Value in Digital Infrastructure Businesses
With Sanjiv Ahuja, Founder and Chairman, Tillman Global Holdings
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M&A Leadership Panel: Where are the Deal Opportunities in Digital Infrastructure and Beyond?
Moderated by Kemal Hawa, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
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William Smales, Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Morrison & Co
Dylan Foo, Senior Partner, Co-Lead Infrastructure, Apollo Management
Josh Pang, Managing Director, Digital Infrastructure Head, Carlyle Global Infrastructure, The Carlyle Group
The pace of M&A activity in digital infrastructure and TMT has accelerated even beyond expectation. Several landmark deals were struck in 2022 and plenty more are tipped to be coming. Key dealmakers discuss the M&A drivers, transaction complexities and future battlegrounds for assets.
· How are M&A deals changing, and who will be the key actors and hottest subsectors? What will the next wave of deals look like in the US and globally?
· Valuations: will multiples continue to increase and how do buyers stay competitive? Are EBITDA multipliers still the most important metric?
· How are investor profiles and access to financing changing, and what impact is that having on investment cycles, deal structures and M&A pipelines?
· How will emerging technologies and convergence affect M&A and opportunities for consolidation, synergies and partnerships? And how are developing trends impacting the role of the financial adviser?
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CEO Fireside Chat: Building a PE-backed Multi-Billion Dollar Data Center Platform
By Rangu Salgame, Chairman and CEO, Princeton Digital Group
Fiber and Broadband Panel – Growth Strategies for Broadband Infrastructure
Moderated by Rodrigo Teixeira, Managing Director, Global Head TMT Industry Group, Santander.
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Garrett Baker, Global Co-Head - Telecom, Media & Entertainment Group, Lazard
Brett Lindsey, President & CEO, Everstream
Victoria Lamberth, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, ZenFi Networks
Chad Crank, Managing Director, Grain Management
The Fiber sector has come into sharp focus as investment, valuations and dealmaking have ratcheted up to formidable heights globally, driven by a transformational demand for bandwidth and the plentiful amount of capital available. Sector leaders assess how the market has developed and where the smart money will go next.
· How is the M&A and valuation landscape developing and who is leading the charge? What roll-up strategies are proving successful?
· What are the most effective sources of financing and structuring deals, and how are initiatives like the bipartisan bill for digital infrastructure impacting the market?
· Greenfield vs brownfield – what strategies are being employed to roll out new networks and upgrade existing? Are there alternatives to traditional fiber?
· What are the operator success stories and best practices in the sector, and how can others learn from past challenges? Are there synergistic opportunities for fiber cos?
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Visionary Keynote Speech: International and Cross-Border M&A Opportunities in Data Centers and Digital Infrastructure
The Future TowerCo Panel: Creating Synergies and Future-Proof Business Models
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Sachit Ahuja, Managing Director, Tillman Global Holdings
Ed Farscht, CEO, Diamond Communications
Robert Paige, SVP of M&A, Vertical Bridge
Leaders from major TowerCos and the most active investment firms and advisers discuss how the market is developing in the US, Latin America and globally, where operators are finding growth synergies across the ecosystem, and how they can tap into the next wave of connectivity.
• Who is leading investment and where are the opportunities for growth?
• How is M&A impacting the market and which sub-sectors are most active?
• Which new tower business models offer the most revenue and profit potential?
• How is convergence affecting investment in towers?
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Breakout Sessions - A
Each breakout session takes place in a private room led by an industry expert. Chatham House Rules Apply. Choose from 5 options.
Financing Digital Infrastructure – Financing the next wave of deals
Moderated by Laura Fazio, Managing Director Technology & Telecom Banking, Huntington Bank
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Chris Moon, Managing Director, DigitalBridge
Emily Goergen Azer, Principal, GI Partners
Ted Mocarski, Senior Partner, Novacap
Finance heads, investment bankers and investors assess evolving trends in global debt and equity markets.
• Acquisition, LBO and capex financing: how are pricing and conditions changing?
• Scaling up: how can high growth and mid-cap companies increase access to capital?
• How have digital infrastructure trends and global changes caused financing strategies to evolve over the past 12 months?
• Greenfield investments: where are the opportunities to put financing to work?
• Equity Capital Markets – what’s the 2023 outlook?
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Enterprise Cloud – Finding New Paths to Growth
Moderated by Stephanie Harris, Americas Reporter, TMT Finance
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Scott Willis, CEO, DartPoints
Shawn McGorry, CEO, Expedient
Keith Angell, CEO, Pythian
Cloud communications continue to change how enterprises collaborate internally and interact with their customers. As businesses and customers alike demand seamless, converged communications platforms, how are operators reacting to the change? How is the investment community financing the necessary growth?• Assessing the market: emerging developments in cloud comms M&A and financing.
• Is there enough capacity to support demand and what does the next three to five years look like?
• Growth and investment – Build your own network vs looking for support from providers.
• How is the relationship between cloud cos and investors changing?
• What are the prospects for consolidation in the market?
• How have the valuations benchmarks shifted over the past 24 months? And what stage is next?
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Rural Broadband and Fiber Investment – Where are the opportunities?
Moderated by Jack S. Burton, Principal, Broadband Success Partners
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Michael Morey, President & CEO, Bluebird Network
Brad Moline, CEO, ALLO Communications
Jack Bittan, Executive Chair, LS Networks
Bill Baker, CEO, Nextlink Internet
Steve McGhie, Founder and CEO, Utah Broadband
With access to high-speed internet connectivity increasingly essential, industry leaders examine innovative business strategies and the recent influx of capital in the space as operators and investors strive to meet the needs of rural customers that previously were unable to connect.
• Reaching the remote pockets: where are the greatest opportunities for rural broadband investment in the US?
• Which players are spearheading the changing face of rural US broadband?
• Where are current investment cycles at for rural fiber companies?
• RDOF: who is best placed to connect rural America?
• Where should potential investors look: buying or building?
• With such an abundance of fiber companies currently being bought and sold, how do potential investors locate the highest quality management teams?
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Wireless Infrastructure Leaders – Building future TowerCos
Moderated by Santander
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Todd Smith, CFO, Tillman Infrastructure
Jimmy Eisenstein, Chairman and CEO, Grupo TorreSur
Ryan Lepene, Co-President, Peppertree Capital Management
Matt Newton, CEO, Everest Infrastructure Partners
Daniel Agresta, President & CEO, APC Towers
Operator CEOs and key investment firms assess strategies for the US wireless infrastructure market, focusing on the next wave of opportunities and industry changes posed by 5G, fiber, and datacentre in relation to the towers market.
• Investing in the next phase of growth: The value of moving into higher growth markets of fiber, small cell, 5G, datacenters and edge computing?
• Growth opportunities presented by new entrants and other emerging MNOs.
• Partnerships between public and private operators – working with MNOs on the next phase of outsourcing, partnerships, acquisitions, and network rollout.
• Financing for build vs buy – Which financing options are available for new growth opportunities and M&A?
• Critical Importance of macro towers in network evolution.
• As tower companies increasingly weigh into the datacenter industry, how much opportunity is there for growth in the vertical?
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Investing in Latin American Digital Infrastructure
Moderated by Tom Allegaert, Founder & Partner, Fide Partners
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Chase Killeen, SVP - Finance, Corporate Development & Strategy, Transtelco
Ricardo Zubieta, CFO, QMC Telecom
Jeff Ferry, Director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Gabriel Navarro, CEO, Even Group
As valuation expectations and competition for digital infrastructure assets in mature markets intensifies, investors seek geographical avenues with high-growth prospects to deploy capital. Key operators, investors and advisers discuss the market outlook for Latin America.
• Where will the next wave of dealmaking and investment opportunities be in Latin American digital infra?
• How are new entrants differentiating in an increasingly competitive region?
• Which subsectors and specific markets offer most opportunity and ROI?
• What are the challenges and regulatory headwinds of transacting in the region and how are buyers and sellers navigating them?
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Breakout Sessions - B
Each breakout session takes place in a private room led by an industry expert. Chatham House Rules Apply. Choose from 5 options.
TMT M&A Strategies – Identifying deal opportunities
Moderated by David Strauss, Principal, Broadband Success Partners
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Jason Tofsky, MD, Head of Telecom Investment Banking, Goldman Sachs
Michael Obhof, Managing Director, Ardian Infrastructure US
Taylor Dixon, Vice President, Datasite
Advisers, investors, and executives discuss the latest wave of M&A strategies and investment opportunities in the digital infrastructure and services space.
• How have the roles of buyers and sellers and advisers adapted over the past 24 months?
• Evolutions in deal origination, relationship establishment, and business hold periods
• How are strategies and investment in the digital infrastructure and services space set to change post-pandemic?
• What is the impact of current valuations and multiples on investment strategies?
• Which markets and countries still offer deal opportunities?
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Data Center Investment Leaders – Finding new paths to growth
Moderated by Miles Loo Jr, EVP & Global V&A Practice Lead, Newmark
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Bob DeSantis, CEO, 365 Data Centers
Amber Caramella, CRO, Netrality Data Centers
Todd Coleman, CEO, eStruxture Data Centers
Avner Papouchado, Founder & CEO, Serverfarm
How has greenfield financing developed over the past 18 months+ to meet the data and investment demand?
• How are soaring valuations impacting the dealmaking process?
• What impact are green initiatives having on datacentre investments and financings?
• What does the decreasing amount of public data center peers mean for the industry?
• What impact is edge computing having on data center investments?
• How have those looking/making investments in the data center space altered the face of the vertical?
• With current valuations, where and how can investors and operators deploy capital effectively?
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Densification and Small Cell – The new battlegrounds
Moderated by Thomas Simpson, Americas Editor, TMT Finance
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Sherafgan Mehboob, CFO TDC, Tillman Global Holdings
Jason Caliento, Chief Commerical Officer, Mobilitie
With attention increasingly turning on the inbuilding vertical, operators and investors discuss how to capitalise off the incoming wave of growth.
• How is investment appetite for small cells changing? Where are the opportunities?
• Are current financing models for densification sufficient for a national 5G program?
• How would the financing of small cells differ from traditional investment in macro cells?
• What plans are there to improve cooperation with municipalities and real estate owners?
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UCaaS and Managed Networking – Assessing deal opportunities
Moderated by Bank Street Group
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Margi Shaw, CEO, NITEL
Brian Crotty, CEO, Fusion Connect
Leaders from UCaaS and Managed Networking companies explore how to build and scale market leading platforms, as investment interest in the sector continues to soar.
• How much growth potential is there to UCaaS and Managed Networking businesses and who is best place to capture it?
• How are traditional US-focused players transforming their businesses to cater to new geographies?
• Where are the M&A opportunities and how will the consolidation of the broader infra and services sector affect strategy?
• How will UCaaS companies change the face of traditional telecom operators?
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FTTX Leaders – Creating scalable platforms
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Dan Kennedy, President and CEO, symetry fiber
Hal Brumfield, CEO, Tachus
Mark Murphy, CEO, Greenlight Networks
Ted Schremp, CEO, IQ Fiber
Phillip Clark, CEO, PAXIO
Insights and perspectives on the generational market opportunity for service providers to capitalize on demand for Fiber-to-the-X, including:
• Assessing growth strategies for FTTx: M&A, roll-ups, and new build.
• Where are the best opportunities in FTTP and FTTH in 2022.
• How to leverage the overbuild growth opportunity.
• What are the best financing options and how is investment criteria changing?
• Who is leading the land grab for the next 50 million FTTH passings in the United States?
• Best practices and success factors learned from the leading independent FTTx operators
• Unit economics and valuation dynamics behind high-growth FTTx platform companies
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CEO Fireside Chat: Finding growth in the services layer – driving value in Cloud and IT services
Visionary Keynote Speech – Digital Infrastructure M&A Outlook
By James H. Henry Senior Managing Director, Bank Street Group
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Data Center Leaders Panel: Creating Long-Term Investment Strategies
Moderated by Gordon Bell, Partner and Principal, EY-Parthenon
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Sharif Metwalli, CFO, Vantage Data Centers
Bruce Lehrman, Founder and Vice Chairman, Involta
Matt VanderZanden, COO, Stack Infrastructure
Dealmaking activity and soaring valuations in the data centers space have continued apace as the sector evolves and new opportunities emerge for consolidation and investment. In this session, data center leaders and financiers discuss where we’re at in the current investment cycle and how the deal environment is evolving.
• What’s next in terms of valuations, financing structures, consolidation and other deal making activity in the data centers and edge space?
• ESG: how is the industry responding to increased demands on transparency and green credentials and how will that shape business models?
• Hyperscale vs retail and edge data centers: Market dynamics, competition and where are the opportunities for partnerships?
• What are the next big greenfield and brownfield opportunities and how will they be financed? Where are the opportunities in the US and internationally?
• Data and applications: where is the user market growth going to come from and how will that drive demand?
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