Telecommunications company Crown Castle Inc. has reached an agreement with an EQT AB fund and Zayo Group Holdings Inc. for each to buy separate parts of its fiber business for a combined value of $8.5 billion.

Zayo said the purchase will expand its fiber network and reinforce its strategic focus on enabling AI and digital transformation across the U.S.

Crown Castle agreed to sell its fiber segment for $8.5 billion following a more than year-long strategic review of the business. The communications infrastructure owner and operator said Thursday it plans to sell the small cells part of the business to EQT Active Core Infrastructure,