The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is investing in a wireless communications infrastructure company.
Diamond Communications, which specializes in developing wireless network facilities to enhance internet and cellular services in remote regions, owns and manages a network of 300,000 wireless infrastructure sites in Canada and the U.S. It also owns 4,000 sites rented by internet service providers.
“Diamond’s diverse, high-quality portfolio of wireless sites is helping to connect people, companies and communities,” said Kevin Kerr, senior managing director and head of Americas, infrastructure and natural resources at the Ontario Teachers’. “. . . We look forward to supporting the company’s continued growth as it continues to deliver a high standard of connectivity across the U.S.”
According to a press release, the pension fund’s move is part of a broader strategy targeting digital infrastructure assets around the world. Last year, the Ontario Teachers’ made a similar investment in a network of mobile towers in New Zealand.
In other news, the real estate arm of the Ontario Teachers’ is moving forward with plans to construct a parking lot, senior living facility and several commercial buildings in Montreal.
The development, located in Pointe-Claire, a city on Montreal’s West Island, will be constructed on a 43-hectare forest and wetland area purchased by the pension fund in 2013. Construction had been delayed for more than a year as a result of protests from locals and politicians who are opposed to the redevelopment of the space.
Last week, the council approved the project, allowing Cadillac Fairview to put up a fence in order to prevent the public from accessing the area. “Though the City of Pointe-Claire and its residents acknowledge the importance of the wooded area, this land is private and the owner has the right to proceed with this fence installation.”
Read: CPPIB reinvesting in airport operator, Cadillac Fairview developing Calgary-area industrial site