Corvex to CCI: Hold Off on Verizon Tower Buy

NEW YORK CITY—Corvex Management LP, which earlier this year succeeded in removing the entire board of what was then known as CommonWealth REIT, has turned its attention from office properties to cellphone towers. In a letter to shareholders in Crown Castle International Corp., the Houston-based wireless infrastructure owner/operator, Corvex’s Keith Meister said CCI should put off its possible $6-billion acquisition of Verizon‘s tower network until it changes its capital allocation plan to improve shareholder value.

“We are optimistic that many of you share our view that Crown Castle is a great business with exceptional growth opportunities in the years ahead,” Meister, managing partner at Corvex, wrote in a letter made public Tuesday. “However, we also believe many of you share our frustration over the company’s stock price underperformance relative to peers and the market over the past 18 months, and the company’s persistent market discount relative to its peers and its own intrinsic value.” Corvex-managed funds own approximately 12.6 million shares, worth about $1 billion, of the stock in CCI, which converted to REIT status earlier this year.