Global private equity firm Carlyle has committed $1 billion in funds to partner up with Tillman Global Holdings to ramp up its investment in independent cell tower company Tillman Infrastructure.

Founded in 2016, Tillman Holdings is one of the largest providers of build-to-suit towers in the US, where it offers 2,300 sites across the country.

The funds, which came from Carlyle's global infrastructure platform, will be used by Tillman Holdings to meet increased demand for mobile Internet infrastructure, while also continuing to invest in infrastructure to serve its underlying mobile network operator and other customers.

"Tillman Global has built a world-class portfolio of digital infrastructure assets with a demonstrated operating model for partnering with and delivering high-quality service to customers," said Carlyle Global Infrastructure head of digital infrastructure Joshua Pang.

"We see significant opportunity for growth given the long-term secular demand drivers of mobile data proliferation, digital connectivity, and the convergence of digital infrastructure operating models."

In addition to Carlyle's partnership with Tillman, the company has acquired Involta Data Centers, a US-based data center business, and Wyyerd Fiber Group, a fiber-to-the-home platform.

Tillman Global chairman Sanjiv Ahuja added: "Our US tower platform, Tillman Infrastructure, continues to be a disruptive, customer-friendly organization with a tremendous amount of growth potential. This new partnership with Carlyle represents the next phase of our investment in US towers."

Greenberg Traurig LLP advised Carlyle on this transaction, while Sullivan and Cromwell and TAP Advisors advised Tillman Global.