TMT M&A Forum USA 2024
UNLOCKING THE NEXT WAVE OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT
September 25-26 2024, The Met Club, New York
September 25-26 2024, The Met Club, New York
Speaker
Thomas Simpson, Americas Editor, TMT Finance
Speakers
Richard S. Lukaj, Senior MD, Bank Street Group
Leaders from across digital infrastructure discuss strategies towards exponential growth. From meticulous analyses of subsector opportunities in MNOs, fiber, towers, data centers, cloud, and services to navigating the shifting terrain of deal structures, this discussion will spotlight the pivotal role that access to financing is having on shaping market dynamics. Through collaborative dialogue, the opening panel of the TMT M&A Forum USA 2024 will discuss pathways that optimize resources and drive sustainable business expansion across digital infrastructure.
Speakers
Suruchi Ahuja, CEO, Tillman Infrastructure
Moderator
Kemal Hawa, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
Speakers
Andrew Thomas, Senior Managing Director, Stonepeak
TMT M&A Leaders delve into how deal structures and the financing ecosystem are evolving in the current macroeconomic environment. This panel explores the impact of capital constraints on dynamics and navigational strategies for sponsors, while also addressing the continuing significance of private credit and emerging financing types such as ABS financing and ESG-linked notes. Furthermore, speakers analyze how soaring valuations are impacting the dealmaking process and discuss navigational approaches in this context to ensure sustainable business expansion.
Speakers
Sharif Metwalli, CFO, Vantage Data Centers
Mary Meduski, President and CFO, TierPoint
Maile Kaiser, CRO, CoreSite
Leaders discuss the ever-evolving landscape of data centers. This panel brings together operators and investors to explore critical topics such as emerging financing structures, valuations, M&A trends, and the transformative impact that AI will have on the market. At the forefront of digital infrastructure discussions is the transformative impact of AI on investment growth in the datacenter market. How is the market set to change in 2024 Q4 and 2025?
Speakers
Rich Coyle, President and CEO, Extenet
Matt Newton, CEO, Everest Infrastructure Partners
Operators and investors in the realm of connectivity infrastructure delve into recent M&A transactions, pipeline prospects, and the receptiveness of capital markets to deals. Discussions will focus on the strategize partnership models for collaborating with MNOs or financial sponsors to advance connectivity, as well as evolving TowerCo models, identifying successful business models and potential synergies. Opportunities for investment in private networks will be unveiled, alongside considerations of power, ESG, and infrastructure management optimization for the future.
Moderated by Maisie Clarke, Senior Reporter, TMT Finance
TMT Deal Talks Live presents an engaging fireside chat where we delve into insightful discussions with a top-tier dealmaker, celebrated for steering one of the year's most significant transactions in digital infrastructure. Gain exclusive insights into the strategies and foresight behind this monumental deal.
Moderated by Megan Mayers, Americas Reporter, TMT Finance
TMT Deal Talks Live presents an engaging fireside chat where we delve into insightful discussions with a top-tier dealmaker, celebrated for steering one of the year's most significant transactions in digital infrastructure. Gain exclusive insights into the strategies and foresight behind this monumental deal.
Speakers
Dinni Jain, CEO, Google Fiber (GFiber)
Sarah Overbaugh, CFO, MetroNet
Brian Stading, Chief Executive Officer, Lumos Fiber
Andrej Danis, Partner and Managing Director, AlixPartners
Leading fiber operators and investors from across the US analyze the timing and impact of consolidation as players gather capital for fiber buildouts. Speakers will strategize on how fiber players can position themselves for the upcoming consolidation wave and how the M&A market is set to play out in 2025. Speakers will also discuss themes such as emerging financing structures, closing the digital divide, the open access model and the rollout of the BEAD Program.
Speakers
TBC
Leaders consider AI's significant influence on M&A activity and business models for digital infrastructure players, emphasizing its role in revolutionizing investment growth over the next decade.
Speakers
Joe Valenti, Managing Director, Co-Head of Americas Media & Telecom Investment Banking, BofA Securities
Michael Leitner, Senior Managing Director, Stonepeak
Financing leaders across digital infrastructure discuss navigating the current financial constraints and strategies for funding the next wave of deals. Speakers analyze the implications of decreasing interest rates on M&A activities and investment strategies anticipated for 2025 after a difficult couple of years. Deliberations delve into the effects of factors like the cost of debt and capital constraints on deal-making processes throughout 2024. Sponsors grapple with the challenge of balancing the imperative for swift deployment with maintaining strategic discipline.
Speakers
Todd Foje, CEO, Great Plains Communications
Scott Bergs, CEO, Dark Fiber & Infrastructure (DF&I)
Speakers
TBC
IT Services & Cybersecurity leaders meet in this breakout session to explore the current landscape of M&A. Cybersecurity threats and the demand for robust software solutions has forged a strong path for M&A activity. Delegates will gain an understanding of how to capitalize on these opportunities, expand their market reach and fortify their positions.
Speakers
TBC
TowerCo Leaders discuss the potential refocus of US-based tower investors towards the European market, alongside analyses of how global trends might reverberate in the US market. Future market dynamics within the US tower market are explored, shedding light on the latest trends in mergers, acquisitions, and consolidation. The rollout of 5G technology is a focal point, with insights into its profound influence on investment strategies. Strategic considerations regarding partnerships versus acquisitions are examined to discern their strategic implications. Furthermore, advancements in IoT, AI, Edge Computing, and Cloud Services are dissected for their transformative effects on investment priorities and the creation of novel revenue streams in the digital infrastructure sector.
Moderator
Laura Fazio, Managing Director Technology & Telecom Banking, Huntington Bank
Speakers
Rachel Stack, CFO, Cologix
Michael Rees, CFO & COO, SummitIG
In this breakout discussion experts will delve into the latest developments in project financing and securitization, unveiling deal structures that are reshaping the industry. Learn how securitization is changing the landscape for TMT financing and gain valuable insights into leveraging these structures for sustainable growth and investment opportunities.
Speakers
Bob DeSantis, CEO, 365 Data Centers
Tony Rossabi, Co-Founder, OCOLO
Robert Gutman, Senior VP of Capital Markets and Investor Relations, Compass Datacenters
Jeff Uphues, CEO, DC BLOX
Leaders across managed infrastructure will explore the current landscape of deals, evaluating the influence of AI on value and growth, examining how to build managed services platform via consolidation, assessing companies' responses to external challenges, and outlining business priorities for the next 12 months.
Speakers
Lindsey Bruner, COO, CleanArc Data Centers
The advent of AI is revolutionizing the landscape of digital infrastructure, reshaping the necessity for high power-driven processes. Yet as AI applications drive evolving workload demands, there's a critical assessment of their impact on data center infrastructure. Speakers will focus on the capture and transmission of energy, the imperative for sustainable power generation and consumption and exploring the pressing need for scalable and efficient infrastructure to accommodate AI-driven workloads.
Speaker
Alex Wan, Managing Director, Global TMT Investment Banking, BofA Securities
Breakout roundtable discussion focusing on how the cost of debt and capital constraints has affected dealmaking throughout 2023 and 2024. Speakers examine predictions for financing structures and the ecosystem expected in 2025, offering valuable perspectives on future trends and strategies within the industry. Topics include the impact of the rising cost of capital on mid-sized fiber operators, leading to increased asset sales, implications of rising costs being transferred to customers, and the resulting impacts on market dynamics.
Speakers
Ben Edmond, CEO and Founder, Connectbase
Exploring new avenues for growth across UCaaS and Cloud, this breakout session brings together leaders from across these markets to shed light on the potential of these solutions in today’s business landscape. Learn how unified communications and cloud computing are unlocking revenue, scalability and enhanced customer experiences.
Speakers
Brett Lindsey, CEO, Involta
Thought Leaders at the forefront of new digital infrastructure assets, trends and innovations determine how the sector will change over the next decade. Participants analyze the role of the Infratech layer in fostering synergies across applications and core infrastructure, the benefits of Software-Defined Data Centers (SDDCs), semiconductor investments and legislative initiatives like the CHIPS and Science Act, and strategies addressing energy bottlenecks.