CityFibre agrees to $750 million buyout from Goldman Sachs, Antin consortium

The board of UK fiber to the premises (FTTP) infrastructure provider CityFibre has agreed to accept an acquisition offer worth £537.8 million ($750 million) from a consortium that includes Goldman Sachs' West Street Infrastructure Partners and funds managed by Antin Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm. The deal also is said to have the blessing of current CityFibre shareholders Invesco Asset Management Ltd., Woodford Investment Management Ltd., Pelham Capital Ltd. and Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

The deal comes as CityFibre embarks on an ambitious expansion of its FTTP footprint (see "CityFibre plans to raise £200 million for FTTH projects, acquisition"). That includes partnering with Vodafone (see "Vodafone chooses CityFibre FTTP network for UK broadband delivery"). The sale will help fund the planned expansion, according to CityFibre Chairman Chris Stone.

"CityFibre has established itself as a leading independent provider of wholesale fiber infrastructure in the UK and has been on a transformational journey since its IPO in 2014. Your board believes that this transaction represents compelling value for CityFibre's existing shareholders and is also a good solution for CityFibre's long-term funding," Stone said as part of acquisition announcement. "Under private ownership, CityFibre will be able to gain alternative and potentially easier access to the financing required for its announced FTTH deployment. This will strengthen the Company's ability to deliver on its vision to provide full fiber infrastructure to 20% of the UK market."

The consortium's offer of 81 pence per share of CityFibre stock represents a 93% premium on Monday's closing price.

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