The investment manager is building diversified, global platform of critical digital infrastructure assets with towers as its latest gambit
When Tele2 announced it was carving out telecom infrastructure assets to create the first tower company covering all Baltic countries in a 50/50 partnership with Global Communications Infrastructure (GCI), there was a statement of intent in the release that suggests this investment is just the start of Manulife Investment Management (MIM) backed GCI.
Tucked under the transaction details, which values the tower company at €560 million on a debt-free basis – Tele2 expects cash proceeds of around €440 million – was a statement that GCI is a tower platform “targeting investments in telecom towers globally”.
Who is GCI?
Digging into GCI, shows it was registered in 2013 but it appears to have been dormant until registering for a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) in July 2025, suggesting it was established by MIM to serve as a focused vehicle for telecom tower infrastructure investments. The Baltic tower company JV with Tele2 seems to be its first known deal.
And it looks like towers was the remaining part of the digital infrastructure jigsaw for MIM. In 2023, it acquired a controlling interest in data centre builder and operator Serverfarm. At the time, it had a portfolio of eight data centers across North America, Europe and Israel that aggregates more than 1.5 million gross square feet and 125MW of IT capacity, and it had secured additional land for future data centre developments.
Through the acquisition, it also got InCommand, Serverfarm’s cloud based DMaaS (Data Centre Management as a Service) platform. With over 750 sites already managed by InCommand DMaaS, it is positioned as the cloud platform of choice for enterprises, cloud services and commercial data centre providers to manage their distributed data centre assets. A year later, Serverfarm acquired two data centres providing over 500MW of new potential capacity in the Houston market.
Boldyn investment
In March 2024 MIM, with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Alberta Investment Management Corporation, agreed a follow-on commitment into neutral host provider Boldyn Networks, which also included the agreed acquisition of Apogee Telecom, one of the largest providers of on-campus connectivity infrastructure in the US higher education industry. MIM first bought into Boldyn’s US assets in 2021.
Towerco play
In the latest deal with Tele2, the newly established Baltic tower company based in Lithuania will own tower and rooftop assets in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, a total of around 2,700 tower and rooftop sites. Following the transaction, Tele2 will be the anchor tenant under a 20-year Master Service Agreement (MSA), ensuring long-term and secure access to critical infrastructure. The parties have also committed to a 10-year investment plan to build new sites across the Baltics, supporting continued expansion and improved network coverage.
“We want to develop our tower assets together with a partner who brings both capital and expertise. This is a way for us to create additional value from the assets we have, together with an experienced partner who knows this business well,” said Tele2 president and CEO Jean Marc Harion (above).
The transaction is expected to have a negative underlying EBITDAaL impact of around EUR 35 million in 2026 on Tele2 and is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be finalised in early 2026.
“We have strong conviction in telecommunications infrastructure and the importance of tower assets in serving growing mobile demand. With both Manulife IM’s experience in this space and a seasoned leadership team, this partnership with Tele2 positions us to support the next wave of digital infrastructure investment,” said MIM global head of infrastructure Recep Kendircioglu.
Spotlight on GCI’s CEO
“We are proud to partner with Tele2 and support the future growth of digital connectivity in the Baltics. With a long-term perspective and commitment to investment, we see strong potential to develop high-quality, efficient and scalable infrastructure,” said GCI CEO Tim Culver.
Culver’s appointment as CEO demonstrates MIM’s commitment to growing GCI’s tower portfolio. Culver brings extensive and deep-rooted expertise in telecom tower infrastructure. Up until May, he was executive chairman of Phoenix Tower International (PTI), advising on strategic M&A and financing transactions for PTI. He previously served as general counsel and senior legal advisor at Global Tower Partners from its inception until its sale.
Although some org charts still show him to be executive chairman of PTI, according to the UK Companies House records, Culver stepped down from his directorship role at a PTI-linked entity (M AND D UNITED LTD) on 2 May 2025.
Under Culver’s leadership, PTI has executed major large-scale deals, like acquiring up to 3,800 tower sites from WOM in Chile and entering the Irish market with a deal to own and operate over 650 towers through a build-to-suit program with eir. His track record in structuring, financing and executing tower infrastructure deals globally signals that GCI isn’t just a new venture in the Baltics; it’s backed by leadership with proven global experience in this sector.
