Why Everest May Have Contacted You
If you are a landowner, Everest may have recently contacted you with an offer that seems too good to be true.
First, who is Everest Infrastructure Partners (“Everest”)?
- Everest is made up of a group of telecom professionals who were the core management team of TriStar Investors. TriStar Investors, over a period of several years, acquired interest in over 1,000 cell towers across the United States.
- Everest’s business model is complex, yet simple at the same time. Instead of focusing on the building of new cell towers or the purchasing of existing ones, they only focus on the most valuable cell tower sites and acquire an interest in them indirectly through the property owner that is leasing the land to the cell tower company.
- Is Everest a legitimate company? Do they stand by their terms? Should you consider them an option as it relates to your cell tower lease? Yes to all of these.
What An Everest Cell Tower Offer May Look Like
An offer from Everest usually consists of three (3) main components:
- First, a property owner will be offered an annual amount from Everest that will be paid in addition to the cell tower rent you are receiving under your lease. This amount will be paid from the date of your deal with Everest until the expiration of the current cell tower lease, at which time it will end;
- Second, you will usually be offered some form of one-time signing bonus payment that will be paid at closing. The amount of this one-time payment will be based upon the value of your cell tower site and the amount of the above-mentioned annual payment you will receive from Everest;
- Lastly, at the end of the current term of your cell tower lease, your rent from your current cell tower tenant (American Tower, Crown Castle, SBA, etc.) will cease and so will the Everest annual payment. At that time, Everest will pay you a percentage of the rents that they receive from the operation of the cell tower, which they now have on your property.
What do you have to give in return to get the above-described terms from Everest?
- At the time of closing the deal with Everest you will grant them an easement in the same area that you are presently leasing to the cell tower company;
- Secondly, you agree not to extend or materially modify the current cell tower lease you have with the cell tower company; and
- Lastly, you make certain representations that you will not allow other cell tower companies on your property to compete with Everest.
Is A Deal With Everest A Good Choice For You?
The answer to the question is that it really depends on your particular situation, the cell tower on your property, the current terms of your cell tower lease, and the risk assessment of what will happen at the end of your current cell tower lease when the cell tower is taken over by Everest.
How Vertical Consultants Can Help You
Vertical Consultants can assist you with making informed decisions about your next move with Everest or any other cell tower company.
- Vertical Consultants will review your current cell tower lease and any offer you receive to extend or modify your cell tower lease at no charge to determine what options you really have going forward.
- Vertical Consultants, in the word of the legendary radio announcer Paul Harvey, will tell you “the rest of the story” when it comes to companies like Everest, or even the present company leasing your property.
- Vertical Consultants, if you would like, will be your advocate in the negotiation and structuring of any new cell tower agreement you are interested in pursuing. Our job is to maximize the value of your cell tower lease and property while, at the same time, protecting you from hazards that may otherwise go overlooked.
Please contact us to today for a free consultation and to take the first step in getting the cell tower lease you deserve.
