Pamlico Capital has made a growth equity investment in Airwavz Solutions, a provider of in-building wireless infrastructure.
Airwavz designs, installs, owns and operates wireless infrastructure systems that are located inside commercial office and hospitality buildings in major metropolitan areas.
The company’s products are used to provide building tenants and their guests with improved cellular service and simultaneously allowing wireless carriers to improve coverage and increase network capacity. Airwavz, led by CEO Brad Davis, is headquartered in Charlotte, NC (www.airwavz.com).
“Amidst the continued explosion in mobile data consumption, in-building wireless coverage and capacity challenges are increasing,” said Mr. Davis. According to the company, approximately 80 percent of mobile data consumption originates or terminates inside buildings and only a small fraction of buildings have adequate wireless infrastructure. Wireless services are a critical factor in tenants’ decisions to lease commercial real estate. Recent studies show that 84 percent of tenants are willing to pay more per square foot for a building with proven cellular connectivity infrastructure and the value of an in-building wireless system is estimated to be around $1.50 per rentable square foot in leasing value.
“Pamlico is pleased to partner with the Airwavz team to accelerate the company’s growth and innovation,” said Walker Simmons, a Partner at Pamlico. “We believe in-building is the next frontier of wireless network expansion, creating a highly attractive market opportunity that Airwavz is uniquely positioned to capture through its innovative solutions, novel business model, and seasoned management team.”
Pamlico invests from $20 million to $100 million in companies with annual revenues of $15 million to $200 million. Sectors of interest include business and technology services, communications and healthcare. Pamlico was founded in 1988 and is based in Charlotte (www.pamlicocapital.com).
“The partnership with Pamlico will allow us to accelerate the execution of our vision to solve these challenges for commercial building owners, tenants, and wireless carriers,” added Mr. Davis. “We are excited to have the support of the Pamlico team and the benefit of their experience in the communications infrastructure sector.”
Pamlico is currently invested in two other communications companies: Hosting, a Denver-based provider of managed cloud hosting services that the firm partnered with in 2008 
(www.hosting.com); and Vast Broadband, a Sikeston, MO-based provider of high-speed broadband, video and voice services to residential and commercial customers in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa (www.vastbroadband.com). Pamlico invested in Vast Broadband in 2014.
Citizens Capital Markets was the financial advisor to Airwavz on this transaction.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | August 27, 2018
