Exhibit 99.1
NEWS RELEASE EASTERLY
INVESTOR RELATIONS
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Client: Crown Castle International Corp.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: W. Benjamin Moreland, CFO
Crown Castle International
713-570-3000
Ken Dennard, Easterly I.R.
kdennard@easterly.com
713-529-6600
CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL CORP. ANNOUNCES
PARTNERSHIP WITH RAI - RADIOTELEVISIONE ITALIANA
APRIL 27, 2001 - HOUSTON, TEXAS - Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI)
today announced that its subsidiary, CCR S.r.l., has agreed to purchase a 49
percent interest in RaiWay S.p.A, a subsidiary of RAI - Radiotelevisione
Italiana S.p.A., the Italian state-owned television and radio broadcaster, for
approximately $380 million. RaiWay employs over 750 people and manages over
2,300 broadcast transmission sites across Italy, representing Italy's largest
broadcast tower network.
Key terms of the transaction include a television and radio broadcast
transmission contract with RAI through 2014 and Crown Castle's right to appoint
the Chairman and the Business Development Officer who will oversee the marketing
of RaiWay's towers to wireless tenants. The RaiWay transaction will be closed
into escrow and is subject to approval by the Italian Ministry of Communication
and anti-trust approval.
Crown Castle contemplates that Poste Italiane, the Italian state-owned post
office service, will purchase five percent of Crown Castle's interest in RaiWay
for approximately $19 million in cash.
"The RaiWay transaction leverages the experience we gained through our
acquisition of the BBC transmission business in the UK and provides a premier
operating platform necessary to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities in
Italy, the largest mobile phone market in Europe," stated Ted B. Miller, Jr.,
Chairman and CEO of Crown Castle International Corp. "With five 3G license
holders, including two insurgent operators, as well as the prospective
deployment of digital television, we believe Italy will provide significant
opportunities for an independent infrastructure provider with a proven operating
track record. This transaction reinforces our position as a major shared
infrastructure provider with meaningful, scalable operations in Europe. Once
again, Crown Castle is a first-mover in one of the world's fastest growing
wireless markets."
"We believe Crown Castle has proven an outstanding operational experience
with the BBC privatization in the UK," stated Claudio Cappon, Director General
of Rai. "We believe that the combination of RaiWay's assets and Crown Castle's
operational and development expertise will ensure quality broadcast services
while maximizing the value of RaiWay's assets."
CSFB and Lehman Brothers acted as financial advisors to Crown Castle on
this transaction.
Crown Castle has scheduled a conference call for Monday, April 30, 2001 at
10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Central Time). To participate in the Crown
Castle call, dial (913) 981-5532 at least ten minutes before the conference call
begins and ask for the Crown Castle conference call. A replay of the call will
be available approximately two hours after the live broadcast ends and will be
accessible until May 7, 2001. To access the replay, dial (719) 457-0820 using a
pass code of 750967.
Investors, analysts and the general public will also have the opportunity
to listen to the conference call free over the Internet by visiting the
Company's website at www.crowncastle.com. To listen to the live call on the
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web, please visit the website at least fifteen minutes early to register,
download and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen
to the live webcast, an archive will be available shortly after the call.
[LOGO OF CROWN CASTLE INTERNATIONAL]
Crown Castle engineers, deploys, owns and operates technologically advanced,
shared wireless infrastructure. It offers near-universal broadcast coverage in
the United Kingdom and significant wireless communications coverage to 68 of the
top 100 US markets and more than 90 percent population coverage in the UK, and
Australia. Pro forma for all closed and previously announced transactions,
Crown Castle owns, operates, and manages over 13,000 wireless communication
towers internationally. In addition, Crown Castle has development rights to
4,000 fiber exchange sites in the UK. In Italy, Crown Castle and RAI, through
RaiWay, offer near-universal broadcast coverage. For more information on Crown
Castle, visit: www.crowncastle.com.
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This press release contains various forward-looking statements and information
that are based on Crown Castle management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made
by and information currently available to management. Although Crown Castle
believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have
been correct. Such statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and
assumptions including, without limitation, (i) risks associated with the
ownership of a minority interest including control and liquidity risks, (ii)
currency risks, (iii) failure of Poste Italiane to participate in the RaiWay
transaction, (iv) adverse laws or conditions relating to the wireless telecom or
broadcast industry (including 3G or digital television deployment) in Italy and
(v) risks relating to the leveragability of Crown Castle's experience outside of
Italy. Should one or more of these risks materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
expected. More information about the potential factors, which could affect Crown
Castle's financial results, is included in the Risk Factors sections of Crown
Castle's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in previous
press releases issued by Crown Castle.
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