Oak Hill Capital and Pamlico Capital celebrated the start of the summer season with investment announcements in IdeaTek and Socket Telecom, service providers headquartered in Kansas and Missouri, respectively, and the combination of the two companies into a single entity.
The new company will be headed by Jim Gleason, who most recently was CEO of Vexus Fiber. The goal is for the combined company to pass more than 500,000 homes in the Midwest by 2028.
Oak Hill Capital, which describes itself as a “thematic, middle-market private equity firm,” and Pamlico Capital combined on both investments. The IdeaTek investment aims to deploy networks across Kansas. Current IdeaTek investor TPG Peppertree will sell its stake to the two companies and make a new investment in conjunction with the two firms.
The two companies also jointly invested in Socket Telecom. Initially, the investments will be used to bring broadband infrastructure to Webb City, Odessa, Eureka, Nevada, and Harrisonville.
“We are thrilled to invest in partnership with Oak Hill in building upon Socket’s and IdeaTek’s established track records,” Andrew Tindel, a Pamlico partner, said in a press release.
“We have enjoyed a successful, long-term partnership with Jim Gleason and his experienced operating team building a number of broadband infrastructure businesses over the past 20 years. We are excited to partner again with him and the talented existing Socket and IdeaTek teams to expand the companies’ footprints and serve the attractive market opportunity in the Midwest.”
The relationship between Oak Hill Capital, Pamlico Capital, and Vexus Fiber is well established. In February, 2022, for instance, Vexus Fiber— which served Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico — said it would bring broadband to almost 25,000 homes and businesses in Alexandria and Pineville, Louisiana. The initiative was based on financing from Pamlico Capital and Oak Hill Capital, which already were Vexus Fiber investors.
In May, 2021 Vexus Fiber — which formerly was NTS Communications — said it would use a $50 million investment from Pamlico Capital and Oak Hill Capital to build a network reaching about 40,000 homes and businesses in Tyler, Texas.
