Wire 3 secures majority investment from Oak Hill to further its Florida fiber broadband expansion
Wire 3, an emerging Florida-based fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) provider, has been acquired by Oak Hill Capital, which will invest up to $250 million to accelerate the provider’s reach into underserved Florida communities.
Under the terms of the agreement, Wire 3's existing management team members remain as shareholders and will continue leading the business.
Bank Street Group LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Allen & Overy served as legal counsel to Wire 3 in connection with this transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Oak Hill.
Wire 3 provides symmetrical Internet speeds of up to 10 Gbps over its network to homes and businesses in the communities it serves.
The provider is expanding its fiber network across Florida communities within Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Orange, and Marion counties. Besides expanding broadband access in these communities, the provider’s network expansion will create hundreds of new jobs at Wire 3 and employment opportunities for local contractors.
Jai Ramachandran, CEO of Wire 3, said, "Oak Hill's investment and expertise will help us achieve our target to expand our high-speed Internet service to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across Florida.”
Expansion is a crucial priority for Wire 3. Wire 3 launched fiber broadband expansions in Rockledge and Viera, Florida and its surrounding neighborhoods in November.
Complementing its network expansion efforts, Wire 3 is also moving to appeal to other community segments like the lucrative multi-dwelling unit (MDU) planned communities such as those governed by Homeowners Associations (HOAs) with a bulk internet and television offering through its partnership with DirecTV.
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Sean Buckley
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