Little Rock Ark. Photo by Shutterstock

LITTLE ROCK, ARK—Infrastructure REIT Uniti Group has closed on its previously announced sale-leaseback and fiber acquisition with Bluebird Network. Total consideration for Bluebird's fiber network is $319 million, of which $175 million is funded by Uniti in cash and $144 million in upfront lease payments from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, which is joining forces with Uniti Group through an OpCo-PropCo partnership.

With the deal closed, Uniti has acquired 178,000 fiber strand miles in the Midwest across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, and Oklahoma. In addition, Uniti completed the sale of its Uniti Fiber Midwest operations to Macquarie, while retaining ownership of its existing Midwest fiber network. Uniti is leasing the Bluebird fiber network and its Midwest fiber network, on a combined basis, to Macquarie under a long-term triple net lease.

In connection with the sale of the company's Midwest operations, Uniti received $37 million in cash, including related prepaid rent.

Uniti was formed in 2015 when the regional telecom company Windstream spun off 80% of its fiber optic cables and leased them back under a 15-year triple-net lease agreement. The REIT has been working to diversify its portfolio and as of June 30, 2019, it owned 5.6 million fiber strand miles, 570 wireless towers and other communications real estate throughout the US.