Tillman FiberCo LLC said this week it has received funding that could reach $1.15 billion to support building fiber networks in Florida.
The company closed $815 million in debt financing and has opened a credit facility that could provide as much as $200 million in term loans.
The debt financing is led by a syndicate comprised of Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank; Goldman Sachs Bank USA; JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.; MUFG Bank Ltd.; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.; Société Générale; and Banco Santander S.A., New York Branch.
“This additional financing represents a transformative moment for Tillman Fiber as we accelerate the deployment of our FTTH network in Florida and beyond,” said Tillman Chief Financial Officer Phil Cusick. “Our open-access infrastructure model is instrumental in providing high-quality broadband services to communities and supporting our broader mission of promoting digital inclusion.”
Cusick pointed to remote work, demand for 8K video streaming, gaming and artificial intelligence applications as drivers for investment.
The new financing is in addition to a strategic partnership between Tillman FiberCo LLC and Northleaf Capital Partners that was announced last August. Funds managed by Northleaf initially invested $200 million and could add $300 million as Tillman scales its operations.
In March, Tillman announced the expansion of its Florida network to serve the Tampa Bay, Panhandle, south and southwest regional areas. These include the cities of St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, Naples, Pensacola, Miami, Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Kissimmee. The company intends to provide symmetrical gigabit broadband to residential customers in collaboration with a tier-one U.S. mobile operator.
