Global investment firm KKR will be joining Oak Hill Capital and management as investors in MetroNet. The investment transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. No other financial details were released.
Oak Hill and KKR likely will use new investments to help accelerate MetroNet’s growth in building and connecting fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) data, television, and telephone services to homes and businesses.
MetroNet has been growing through acquisitions and organic growth. Acquisitions include Jaguar Communications and LightSpeed. Currently fiber buildouts are planned for Hickory, NC and elsewhere.
MetroNet provides symmetrical speeds of up to 10 Gbps to homes and businesses in small towns, with the network expected to reach more than 1 million residential households and business locations in the near future.
Oak Hill received more funds to use for MetroNet or with other investments when it sold its interest in Vast Broadband in the fourth quarter of 2020. Oak Hill has been a MetroNet investor since 2014.
“We value our long-standing partnership with Oak Hill and are proud to welcome our new investors at KKR,” said John Cinelli, MetroNet CEO, in a prepared statement. “The additional investments from Oak Hill and KKR will drive growth that further bridges the digital divide by providing hundreds of thousands of additional households access to world class and future proof 100% fiber optic services for living, learning, and connecting to each other. We look forward to maintaining our commitment to excellence in serving our customers and communities.”
“We believe that reliable, high-speed access to the Internet represents a fundamental underpinning of economic growth and equal opportunity for all Americans, from small towns to big cities,” said Benjy Diesbach and Scott Baker, partners at Oak Hill, in a prepared statement about the MetroNet investment. “We are excited to build upon our seven-year partnership with MetroNet’s outstanding management team, led by John Cinelli, as the company expands its fiber network to many more underserved American communities.”
KKR will be making the investment in MetroNet through its global infrastructure strategy.
