Joint Venture Will Offer Leading Fiber Solution to More U.S. Consumers
July 24, 2024
EVANSVILLE, Ind.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Metronet (the “Company”) today announced that, together with its majority shareholders, Oak Hill Capital (together with its affiliates, “Oak Hill”) and the Cinelli family, it has entered into definitive agreements to sell the Company to a Joint Venture (“JV”) between KKR and T-Mobile. Following the transaction’s close, Metronet will become a wholesale services provider for its retail customers and 100% of its residential fiber retail operations and customers will transition to T-Mobile. T-Mobile will have full responsibility for residential customer acquisition and support, leveraging its differentiated retail, marketing, brand and service model, and will utilize Metronet’s deep digital and fiber infrastructure expertise to expand to more households with fiber broadband services. Metronet will focus on build plans, network engineering and design, network deployment, and customer installation. An affiliate of Oak Hill will make a minority investment in the JV, and the Cinelli family will also remain minority investors in the JV alongside KKR and T-Mobile.
“We are extremely grateful for the contributions of each of the talented executives with whom we have worked so closely over the years, and we remain excited about Metronet’s future potential with T-Mobile and KKR.”
Metronet’s management team and Oak Hill have worked together for more than 10 years to build Metronet into the leading independent fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) operator in the U.S., and KKR has been a minority investor in the Company since 2021. Today, Metronet’s fiber network reaches more than 2 million households across 17 states, with pure play fiber solutions that are built on a state-of-the art broadband platform. Metronet has the highest build pace of any private fiber company in the U.S., the third fastest build pace nationally overall and has Net Promoter Scores well in excess of industry averages.
“We started Metronet to bring Main Street USA two things their internet providers weren’t delivering—hyper fast speeds and warm customer service,” said John Cinelli, co-founder and current chairman of Metronet. “Today we have found a strong partner in T-Mobile, a digital infrastructure leader equally focused on cutting-edge technology and the customer experience. We could not have grown so far, so quickly, to reach this moment without the decade-long support of Oak Hill Capital and, for the last three years, KKR. Their visionary support, together with our hardworking associates, have provided the capital and energy to build the best fiber-to-the-home company in the U.S.”
“Our involvement in the Metronet expansion story has been a joyful experience for all of us at Oak Hill—from our first meetings with John Cinelli, Al Cinelli and Lohn Weber in 2010, to our initial investment in the company in 2014, to the decade of remarkable growth we have achieved together since that time. Over the past 10 years, Metronet has expanded its network from 10 small towns in Indiana to over 300 communities across a 17-state footprint, and from 80,000 locations passed to more than 2 million, all while maintaining an unwavering commitment to providing an outstanding experience for its loyal customers and dedicated associates,” said Benjy Diesbach, Senior Operating Advisor, and Scott Baker, Managing Partner of Oak Hill. “We are extremely grateful for the contributions of each of the talented executives with whom we have worked so closely over the years, and we remain excited about Metronet’s future potential with T-Mobile and KKR.”
“Metronet is an amazing American business success story, thanks in large part to Al and John’s entrepreneurial spirit and leadership, and Oak Hill’s support. We are proud of all that Metronet has achieved since we first invested in the Company in 2021, and are thrilled to continue to work with the management team and their associates to build upon the Company’s 20-year legacy. We look forward to embarking on this new chapter with T-Mobile and supporting the Company in its future growth,” said Waldemar Szlezak, Partner and Global Head of Digital Infrastructure at KKR.
The transaction is expected to close in 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Bank Street Group LLC and TD Securities served as financial advisors to Metronet. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Polsinelli served as legal counsel to Metronet. Lazard served as financial advisor to Oak Hill.
Barclays and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as lead financial advisors to KKR, with Goldman Sachs, Mizuho and MUFG also serving as financial advisors. Simpson Thacher is serving as KKR’s legal advisor.
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