MetroNet announced that funds managed by global investment firm KKR will be joining long-time partner, Oak Hill Capital, and management as investors in MetroNet.
As part of the transaction, Oak Hill and KKR will make 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. This year, MetroNet launched services in its ninth state as it expands its fiber footprint to local communities across the country.
MetroNet is one of the fastest-growing providers of fiber optic high-speed broadband services in the nation. The company delivers affordable symmetrical speeds of up to 10 Gbps to homes and businesses in underserved, small-town America, and is credited with creating the largest Gigabit city in the United States by fully wiring Lexington, Kentucky.
The company’s state-of-the-art fiber optic network is built to the highest technical standards, with its existing infrastructure having supported reliable service over the past year when COVID-induced disruptions increased the need for greater bandwidth for tele-work, school, health, and more. MetroNet expects its network to be available to more than 1 million residential households and business locations in the future, bringing competition for these services to hundreds of communities.
Oak Hill is an experienced investor in the FTTP space and has been a partner with the MetroNet team since 2014. KKR will make the investment in MetroNet through its global infrastructure strategy. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Specific terms of the investment were not released.