3i Infra takes 36% stake in WIG for £75m

3i Infrastructure said it was investing £75m to take a 36% stake in Scotland's Wireless Infrastructure Group.

WIG is an independent communications infrastructure provider headquartered in Bellshill, Scotland that builds and operates communication towers in rural and suburban areas, together with fibre based networks, to improve mobile coverage in large buildings and on city streets.

WIG is independent of any network operator and invests in shareable infrastructure that is made available to all networks to access, 3i said. The business has also expanded recently into the Netherlands and Ireland, it added.

“Today's transaction is part of a strategy to scale up WIG. The business has ambitions to expand its footprint in the UK through building new infrastructure and acquiring under-managed infrastructure from third parties, as well as to participate in the expansion of the sector in Europe,” 3i said in a statement.

Completion of the deal is conditional on clearance from the European Commission under the EU Merger Regulation. Completion is anticipated by the end of June 2016.