Net Cash Interest Expense was $96.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to $96.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 0.3%.
AFFO for the quarter was $248.8 million, an 8.2% increase over the prior year period. AFFO per share for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $2.18, a 9.0% increase over the prior year period.
Investing Activities
During the fourth quarter of 2019, SBA acquired 1,336 communication sites for total cash consideration of $471.7 million. These acquired sites include 1,313 sites purchased from Grupo Torre Sur in Brazil on December 6, 2019 for total cash consideration of $460 million. SBA also built 170 towers during the fourth quarter of 2019. As of December 31, 2019, SBA owned or operated 32,403 communication sites, 16,401 of which are located in the United States and its territories, and 16,002 of which are located internationally. In addition, the Company spent $13.7 million to purchase land and easements and to extend lease terms. Total cash capital expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2019 were $533.1 million, consisting of $9.9 million ofnon-discretionary cash capital expenditures (tower maintenance and general corporate) and $523.2 million of discretionary cash capital expenditures (new tower builds, tower augmentations, acquisitions, and purchasing land and easements).
Subsequent to the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company acquired 11 communication sites for an aggregate consideration of $11.9 million in cash. In addition, the Company has agreed to purchase and anticipates closing on 166 additional communication sites for an aggregate amount of $97.8 million. The Company anticipates that the majority of these acquisitions will be consummated by the end of the second quarter of 2020.
Financing Activities and Liquidity
SBA ended the fourth quarter of 2019 with $10.4 billion of total debt, $7.8 billion of total secured debt, $139.1 million of cash and cash equivalents, short-term restricted cash, and short-term investments, and $10.3 billion of Net Debt. SBA’s Net Debt and Net Secured Debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDA Leverage Ratios were 7.1x and 5.3x, respectively.
During the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company repurchased 0.9 million shares of its Class A common stock for $200.0 million, at an average price per share of $232.77 under its $1.0 billion stock repurchase plan. All shares repurchased were retired. As of the date of this filing, the Company has $624.3 million of authorization remaining under the plan.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company declared and paid a cash dividend of $41.5 million.
On November 19, 2019, the Company repriced its $2.4 billion senior secured term loan from a Eurodollar Rate plus 200 basis points to a Eurodollar Rate plus 175 basis points, reducing the Company’s Net Cash Interest Expense by approximately $5.9 million annually.
On December 3, 2019, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, SBA Senior Finance II LLC, entered into a series of interest rate swaps on a portion of its 2018 Term Loan, effectively replacing both existing interest rate swaps. As a result, the Company has swapped $1.95 billion of notional value accruing interest at one month LIBOR plus 175 basis points for a fixed rate of 3.78% per annum through the maturity date of the existing term loan.
On February 4, 2020, the Company issued $1.0 billion of unsecured senior notes due February 15, 2027 (the “2020 Senior Notes”). The 2020 Senior Notes accrue interest at a rate of 3.875% per annum. Interest on the 2020 Senior Notes is due semi-annually on February 15 and August 15 of each year, beginning on August 15, 2020. Net proceeds from this offering were used to redeem all of the outstanding principal amount of the 4.875% Senior Notes due 2022, and repay a portion of the amount outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of the date of this press release, the Company had $175.0 million outstanding under the $1.25 billion Revolving Credit Facility.
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