Oak Hill Capital Partners to buy Oxford Networks, pair with FirstLight Fiber

Oak Hill Capital Partners has reached an agreement to buy New England-based telecommunications and IT services provider Oxford Networks. Once the deal closes, the investment firm will pair the company with another recent acquisition, FirstLight Fiber (see "Oak Hill Capital Partners targets FirstLight Fiber").

Terms of the new deal, with Oxford's current private equity owners Novacap and Bank Street Capital Partners (BSCP) were not disclosed. However, Oak Hill Capital Partners did says that Novacap, BSCP, and current FirstLight Fiber investor Riverside Partners are expected to continue as minority partners alongside Oak Hill in the holding company for FirstLight Fiber and Oxford Networks.

Oxford Networks, which is more than 100 years old, operates networks in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. FirstLight Fiber offers services in New York and Northern New England, with connectivity to Canada. Together, the two companies will possess 4,800 route miles of fiber-optic network infrastructure and 10 data centers, the majority of which are SOC 2 (Service Organization Control) certified.

"The acquisition of Oxford Networks represents a key next step in the execution of Oak Hill's vision to create a leading fiber provider in the Northeastern U.S.," said Scott Baker, a partner at Oak Hill. "Together with FirstLight, Oxford will be able to offer comprehensive solutions to leading regional enterprises and telecommunications carriers, while also maintaining focus on providing the highest levels of customer service to the companies' local business communities."

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016, following customary regulatory approvals.

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