“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," said Christopher Rabii, chief executive officer, FiberLight.
"Morrison & Co is our ideal new partner to support our growth strategy due to its commitment of capital and resources and shared belief that fibre infrastructure is the key to bridging the digital divide and rapid expansion required to meet the extraordinary long-term demand.”
The consortium is led by funds managed by H.R.L. Morrison & Co (Morrison & Co) and includes Australian Retirement Trust (ART) and a managed client of UBS Asset Management.
Once completed, FiberLight says the investment will accelerate its network expansion, enabling to take advantage of the rapidly growing fibre infrastructure market.
“We are pleased to support FiberLight, a well-recognised provider of essential connectivity services to hundreds of businesses," said Perry Offutt, head of North America at Morrison & Co.
"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.”
Located in Atlanta, Georgia, FiberLight's network is comprised of approximately 18,000 route miles of fibre infrastructure, across 30 metropolitan areas. The company builds, owns and operates its own networks serving domestic and international wireless, wireline, cable, and hyperscale cloud providers as well as enterprise, government, and academic customers.
“We recognise the critical role of high-speed connections in today's society, and we look forward to working with the team to help build communication infrastructure for the future,” added Michael Weaver, head of private real and mid-risk assets at ART.
Morrison & Co’s investment in FiberLight marks its first investment in the North American digital infrastructure market and third in the North American market, following investments in Longroad Energy and Clearvision Ventures.
“This investment closely aligns with Morrison & Co’s strategy of backing strong purpose-driven companies with highly defensive characteristics and dependable long-term cashflows, supported by rising consumer and enterprise demand for high-speed broadband connectivity," said William Smales, chief investment officer at Morrison & Co.
"As we actively expand our U.S. business, FiberLight presents an attractive investment opportunity for our investors due to its innovative business model and strong growth potential.”
With no timeline given on the completion of the deal, the acquisition is expected to close following customary closing conditions which includes regulatory approvals.
