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  "documentTitle": "American Tower (AMT)",
  "authorId": "51_Muddy_Waters",
  "authorName": "Carson C. Block",
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  "presentationDate": "2013-07-17 00:00:00",
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  "notes": "The text serves as a forensic accounting critique of AMT's international acquisition practices, specifically alleging potential fraud or inflation of purchase prices.",
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      "text": "We would not be surprised if there are similar problems with other transactions – we researched in depth only one transaction and quickly saw a major problem that amounts to fraud, unless AMT can provide some exonerating explanation.",
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      "text": "Muddy Waters became interested in this transaction at first because the per tower valuation was so high. The price of US$879,000 is high even by US tower price standards, which is approximately US$656,000 in recent years.",
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      "text": "On February 28, 2011, AMT announced that it was acquiring 100% of the shares of a company that owned 565 sites in Brazil for approximately US$420 million. The acquisition was to close on March 1, 2011. The per tower price would have been US$743,000.",
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      "text": "Barely two months later, AMT announced that on March 1, 2011, it had acquired 627 sites for approximately US$553 million, which was a per tower valuation of US$882,000. When AMT filed its 2011 10-K in 2012, the transaction had been upsized to 666 towers for US$585.4 million. This works out to a per tower price of US$879,000.",
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      "text": "There may be up to an additional 40 sites under construction that [AMT] will acquire over the next several months — James Taiclet, AMT CEO and chairman.",
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      "text": "Footnotes 2-7 detailing SEC filings and conference call transcripts.",
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      "text": "US$420 million to US$585.4 million, purportedly starting with 565 sites and ultimately becoming 666 sites.",
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