Simpson Thacher represented the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (“PSP Investments”), one of Canada’s largest pension investors, in its strategic partnership with BCE Inc., Canada's largest communications company, to form Network FiberCo. Network FiberCo will be a long-term strategic partnership to accelerate the development of fiber infrastructure through Ziply Fiber in underserved markets in the United States. As a premier wholesale network provider, Network FiberCo will be focused on last-mile fiber deployment outside of Ziply Fiber's incumbent service areas, enabling Ziply Fiber to potentially reach up to 8 million total fiber passings. PSP Investments has agreed to a potential commitment in excess of US$1.5 billion.
The Simpson Thacher team included Shamus Crosby, Chris May, David Bumgardner, Mark Kunzman, George Smith, Christine Robb, John Carter and Charles Ritger (Corporate); Nancy Mehlman, Lina Pan, Ruoxi Zhang and Benjamin Bressler (Tax); Toby Chun and Noreen Lavan (Environmental); David Rubinsky and Daniella Villatoro (ECEB); Abram Ellis, Anais Bourbon and Christine Tillema (Regulatory); Lori Lesser and Christina Breitbeil (Intellectual Property); Dennis Loiacono (Real Estate); Mick Tuesley, Peter Tian and Thomas Lopez (CFIUS); Peter Guryan, Kelly Karapetyan and James Goldfeier (Antitrust); Nicholas Baker and Sean Lee (Bankruptcy and Restructuring); and Brandon Barton (Credit).