Consortium of funds to buy fiber network service provider FiberLight
A consortium of funds has agreed to purchase fiber network services provider FiberLight LLC for an undisclosed sum. The consortium, led by funds managed by H.R.L. Morrison & Co. and including Australian Retirement Trust (ART) and a managed client of UBS Asset Management, say they will aid FiberLight as the company seeks to expand.
FiberLight, headquartered in Atlanta and currently owned by Thermo Companies, operates a fiber network footprint of approximately 18,000 route miles that serves customers in more than 30 metropolitan areas. Most of that infrastructure serves the major markets of Texas and the Northern Virginia area with the goal of providing connectivity to domestic and international wireless, wireline, cable, and hyperscale cloud providers as well as enterprise, government, and educational clients (see, for example, "FiberLight finishes Texas Express Route deployments").
FiberLight’s management team, led by CEO Christopher Rabii, will remain in place. “With our existing backbone infrastructure and unmatched density across the markets we serve, FiberLight is well equipped to deploy a multitude of solutions to ensure our customers can meet their growing bandwidth needs,” Rabii commented. “Morrison & Co is our ideal new partner to support our growth strategy due to its commitment of capital and resources and shared belief that fiber infrastructure is the key to bridging the digital divide and rapid expansion required to meet the extraordinary long-term demand.”
The investment in FiberLight is Morrison & Co.’s first in the North American digital infrastructure space and third in North America as a whole, following investments in Longroad Energy and Clearvision Ventures. The company owns stakes in Vodafone NZ, Amplitel Towers, CDC Data Centres, Kao Data Centres, Fore Freedom, and Australian Registry Investments.
“We are pleased to support FiberLight, a well-recognized provider of essential connectivity services to hundreds of businesses. As the company continues to scale and deepen its presence in key U.S. markets, we will leverage our significant digital infrastructure expertise and partner with management to address the rapidly growing demand for faster, more secure and more reliable internet access,” said Perry Offutt, head of North America for Morrison & Co.
The deal will close following the fulfillment of customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals. The parties did not offer an expected timeframe for that process.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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