Ara Partners has taken a majority controlling stake in Centric Fiber, a bulk fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) provider focused on Texas, Florida, and Arizona.
Ara describes itself as a global private equity and infrastructure investment firm focused on industrial decarbonization. It was founded in 2017 and has offices in Houston, Boston, Washington D.C., and Dublin, Ireland.
Centric Fiber is headquartered in Houston. It provides fiber broadband to large single family master planned communities. The press release says that Ara completed the transaction in partnership with Centric Fiber and that it builds on collaborations between the two between 2018 and 2021.
The press release says that Ara Infrastructure will invest to help Centric Fiber fulfill its “significant pipeline of contracted projects and backlog” and new opportunities.
“We believe that low-carbon infrastructure will be critical in enabling the unconstrained growth of the digital economy,” Ara Partners Co-Head of Ara Infrastructure George Yong said in the press release.
“Fiber stands out as a practical solution due to its substantial energy efficiency gains over legacy systems and ability to deliver future-ready connectivity. Centric Fiber’s infrastructure-friendly model and deep growth pipeline make it a strong fit with Ara’s builder-oriented approach.”
The press release did not include information about the precise size of the investment or other details.
The role of fiber is under scrutiny as the requirements of artificial intelligence become an increasing concern. On one hand, its well understood properties make it a clear choice for many.
On the other hand, the emergence of fixed wireless access (FWA), low Earth orbit (LEO), and advanced Wi-Fi provides options that were not previously in the picture. These new faultlines are apparent in many places, including the broadened technology criteria in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
