Private equity
Tachus Fiber drops $100 million to go bigger in Texas
Tachus Fiber, with help from private equity partner Crosstimbers Capital Group, is set to spend $100 million to expand its footprint in the Houston (TX) metropolitan area. The company has the aim of adding 100,000 passings in southwest Houston by the end of 2025.
Allo Communications' 20 Years of Growth and New Opportunities from Government Funding
Nebraska-based Allo Communications, a competitive provider that serves urban and rural areas, has seen strong growth over the 20 years since its founding. Allo CEO Brad Moline talks about the many rounds of investment the company has received—from his own pocket to private equity. “It’s such a capital-intensive industry that you just go through evolutions of investors,” said Moline. “I just try to run a perpetual business and as investors want to come in, or go out, or invest more, we can look at it and accommodate them,” he added.
T-Mobile in Talks to Make Big Broadband Bet With Move Into Fiber
T-Mobile is in discussions with Tilman FiberCo to build out a fiber-optic network, setting the stage for the company to enter the landline broadband business. This would be the biggest bet T-Mobile has made in fiber-optic infrastructure, and put it in competiton with cable providers. A deal would make T-Mobile an anchor tenant in a newly formed infrastructure joint venture between Tillman FiberCo and private equity firm Northleaf Capital Partners. Under the agreement, Tillman—financed by Northleaf—would build out network infrastructure to various neighborhoods and business districts and fil
Archtop closes GTel acquisition to broaden New York fiber footprint
Northeast broadband provider Archtop Fiber has completed its acquisition of GTel, which will allow Archtop to expand its network in more than five townships across New York’s Columbia County. GTel currently has more than 2,500 customers on a 300-mile fiber network.
Missouri based Gateway Fiber expands into Minnesota
Missouri-based Gateway Fiber is stretching its legs outside of the state to break ground on fresh fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) projects in Minnesota. In February 2023, Gateway Fiber was acquired by CBRE Investment Management in part to help finance FTTH build-outs as the team prepares for national expansion. John Meyer, Chief Marketing Officer at Gateway, said that the team found that the Minnesota specifically markets around Minneapolis, fit into its internal formula. Meyer said that the decision to enter Minnesota next was unrelated to the state’s federal grant monies.
Great Plains accelerates fiber expansion in Nebraska, Indiana
Great Plains Communications is undertaking significant network rollouts across the Midwest, announcing earlier in August 2023 that it will build fiber in 16 new urban and rural communities in Nebraska. CEO Todd Foje said these markets are all areas where Great Plains will upgrade its broadband services with fiber, with construction slated to start by late fall 2023. Some of the expansion markets are in the Omaha metro area, such as Gretna, La Vista, Papillion, and Ralston, while others are considered “small
Starry Emerges from Bankruptcy as a Private Company
Fixed wireless access (FWA) provider Starry Group Holdings has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a smaller, more narrowly focused privately held company. The implementation of Starry’s reorganization plan completes a process that began in February 2023 when the company filed voluntary petitions for bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and entered into a restructuring support agreement with lenders hold
Private Equity Borrows Billions to Bring You Broadband Internet
Wall Street is churning out billions of dollars in complex bonds to bankroll construction of broadband fiber-optic networks, part of a nationwide push to widen high-speed internet access. Telecommunications companies have already sold more than triple the number of so-called fiber bonds they borrowed in all of 2022.
Investment Firm Owner Helps Great Plains Communications Continue Rapid Expansion
Great Plains Communications is one of a growing number of tier 2 and 3 providers with long-term roots that has been acquired by an investment firm, a move that has helped the company expand rapidly.
Private equity has a $250 million plan to build a new broadband competitor in the Sunbelt
Private equity firm Friedman Capital is looking to scoop up as many as 20 small broadband providers across the Southeastern Sunbelt region in the US, aiming to build a sizable competitor capable of bringing better broadband to parts of the country experiencing rapid population growth. Friedman Capital launched a new strategic investment fund to fuel its plan, aiming to secure $250 million in capital commitments.