- UK’s largest residential gigabit broadband provider welcomes
new investor
- Hyperoptic’s gigabit capable fibre network expected to
quadruple in the next three years
- Strong potential for future deployment of full fibre services
in UK, from only 8% coverage today
KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that it
has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Hyperoptic
Ltd, the UK’s largest residential gigabit broadband provider, from
funds managed by Newlight Partners LP (“Newlight”) and Mubadala
Investment Company. Financial details of the transaction were not
disclosed.
Hyperoptic will continue to be led by Chief Executive Officer
Dana Tobak, CBE and Executive Chairman Boris Ivanovic. Founded in
2011, Hyperoptic benefits from a full fibre network covering 43
towns and cities across the UK, with gigabit broadband services
passing almost 400,000 homes and businesses.
Dana Tobak stated, “We are incredibly grateful to Newlight and
Mubadala for their unwavering support and significant contributions
to the success of Hyperoptic. Currently, only 8% of the UK has
access to full fibre and less than half of that to symmetrical
gigabit services.
We are confident that with the support of KKR and their
significant expertise enabling high-growth businesses, our
ambitious infrastructure plans to build our hyperfast network out
to two million homes by 2021 and five million by 2024 will be
realised.”
Vincent Policard, Member, and Cristina Gonzalez, Director in
European Infrastructure at KKR, said, “Hyperoptic has a
market-leading position and superior consumer product. The business
is strongly positioned to meet the growing demand for full-fibre
services in the UK through further investment and national
roll-out, supporting housing development and renovation. Our
investment in Hyperoptic builds on KKR’s strong track record in
telecommunications infrastructure in Europe, investing in and
deploying next-generation digital connectivity.”
David Wassong and Ravi Yadav, co-Managing Partners at Newlight,
said, “We are extremely proud to have partnered with the Hyperoptic
team during its formative years to build the leading fibre
broadband provided in the UK. The roll out of its hyperfast network
is poised to expand rapidly in the next few years and we will
continue to cheer them on from the sidelines.”
“Mubadala is proud to have been part of the Hyperoptic journey.
Our ICT sector strategy is focused on investments in high growth
companies with excellent management, and Hyperoptic is a prime
example of that,” said Mounir Barakat, Executive Director of ICT,
Mubadala.
KKR’s investment builds on the firm’s track record as an owner
and operator of European telecommunications infrastructure,
including major joint ventures with Telxius and Altice in Spain and
France respectively focused on mobile connectivity and towers,
along with its ownership of Deutsche Glasfaser, a leading German
fibre broadband provider. The investment in Hyperoptic is being
made through KKR’s Global Infrastructure Investors Fund III.
LionTree Advisors acted as the exclusive financial advisor to
Hyperoptic and the selling shareholders in connection with the
transaction.
-ENDS-
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple
alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy,
infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic partners
that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment
returns for its fund investors by following a patient and
disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and
driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR
invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund
investors and provides financing solutions and investment
opportunities through its capital markets business. References to
KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored
funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:
KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter
@KKR_Co.
About Hyperoptic
Hyperoptic was founded in 2011 to shake up the UK broadband
market and is now the country’s largest and fastest-growing gigabit
network provider. It delivers the nation’s fastest broadband speeds
of up to 1Gbps (1,000 megabits per second), which is over 18x
faster than the UK average.
Hyperoptic is a leader in “full” fibre optic technology,
delivering fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), not just
fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC). Its future-proofed infrastructure is
bringing transformational internet speeds and connection stability
to millions of people across the UK.
Hyperoptic works with property owners, developers and
professionals, designing and installing dedicated fibre
infrastructure to new buildings and existing developments.
Working with more than 200 property developers, Hyperoptic is
live in 43 towns and cities with an ambition to reach 5 million
homes and businesses by 2024.
The company was awarded ‘Best Superfast Broadband’ provider by
the Internet Service Providers’ Association for six years in a row.
In 2019 it received awards for ‘Best Customer Service’ and ‘Best
Business ISP’. It has also featured in the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech
Track 100 for the last three years – the UK’s private tech
companies with the fastest-growing sales.
Hyperoptic encourages every customer to leave a review on
Trustpilot, where it has a 5* rating – significantly higher than
other UK broadband providers - and it continues to stay high
despite customer numbers growing rapidly.
About Newlight Partners LP
Newlight Partners LP (Newlight) is a private investment firm
focused on collaborating with management teams and strategic
investors to build unique, durable businesses, predominantly in
North America. For more than 15 years, the Newlight team has helped
build successful enterprises in five sectors, including financial
services, telecommunications, power and renewable energy,
healthcare services and business services. Led by David Wassong and
Ravi Yadav, Newlight has invested approximately $6 billion in over
100 investments since 2005, first as the Strategic Investments
Group at Soros Fund Management LLC (Soros), and now as Newlight
after the team's spin out from Soros in 2018. Newlight has
approximately $4 billion in capital commitments and assets under
management.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191014005279/en/
KKR Alastair Elwen Finsbury +44 20 7251 3801
Alastair.elwen@finsbury.com
Newlight Jonathan Gasthalter / Nathaniel Garnick
Gasthalter & Co. 212-257-4170
Hyperoptic Kathryn Williamson +44 7598 790515
Kathryn.williamson@hyperoptic.co.uk
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