T-Mobile, KKR Announce JV to Acquire Metronet

T-Mobile, America's 5G leader and fastest-growing fixed wireless broadband provider, has entered into a definitive agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) with global investment firm KKR that will acquire Metronet including its broadband infrastructure, rapidly growing residential fiber business operations and existing customers.

As part of the transaction, the JV will also acquire Oak Hill Capital’s existing stake. Oak Hill Capital will re-invest to retain a minority position and founder John Cinelli will also retain a minority position once the deal closes.

Metronet is uniquely positioned as the fastest-growing pure play fiber company in the U.S. and an experienced independent fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) operator. The company currently reaches more than 2 million homes and businesses across 17 states with fiber solutions built on a state-of-the art broadband platform. Following the transaction’s close, Metronet will become a wholesale services provider for its retail customers and 100% of its residential fiber retail operations and customers will transition to T-Mobile. T-Mobile will have full responsibility for residential customer acquisition and support, leveraging its differentiated retail, marketing, brand and service model, and will utilize Metronet’s deep digital and fiber infrastructure expertise to expand to more households with fiber broadband services. Metronet will focus on build plans, network engineering and design, network deployment, and customer installation. Following the transaction close, Metronet is expected to be self-funding on a go forward basis and it is expected to reach 6.5 million homes passed by the end of 2030. To support this business plan T-Mobile does not expect to make any additional capital contributions to the JV.

“This is a unique opportunity and a smart, capital-efficient deal that enables T-Mobile to profitably build on our success in broadband and provide fast, affordable and reliable connectivity options to millions more customers nationwide as a complement to our wireless growth strategy,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “Metronet is the perfect partner for T-Mobile as a leader in fiber solutions with an incredibly fast build pace, and a top-notch management team. Together with KKR’s strong heritage of corporate partnership and global fiber franchise, we will further expand the Un-carrier’s fiber footprint and deliver real value and choice to customers while addressing a growing demand for fast and reliable broadband."

“As a leading investor in fiber broadband, KKR has a strong track record of building fiber networks in multiple countries around the world. Since our initial investment in Metronet in 2021, the company has grown rapidly, including constructing new fiber infrastructure and adding subscribers in attractive, underserved markets,” said Waldemar Szlezak, Partner, and Global Head of Digital Infrastructure at KKR. “Our new joint venture with T-Mobile will be transformational for the future of the Metronet business. We look forward to benefitting from T-Mobile’s industry-leading customer experience to support the company in reaching its full potential.”

The JV will be complementary to T-Mobile’s already existing 5G Home Internet offering, a fixed wireless solution currently being used in more than 5 million households and businesses nationwide using fallow network capacity over the Un-carrier’s 5G network, and the company’s previously announced fiber partnerships. This expanded portfolio of offerings will help meet continually increasing consumer demand for higher speed and reliable broadband products.

"We could not be prouder to expand our strategic partnership with KKR and form a new one with T-Mobile — two global leaders in 5G wireless connectivity and digital infrastructure," said Metronet CEO Dave Heimbach. "Metronet’s 100% fiber network delivers symmetrical multi-gigabit internet service directly to homes and businesses, perfectly complementing T-Mobile’s industry-leading 5G mobile and fixed-wireless offerings to meet consumer demand for seamless, ubiquitous connectivity. With this new partnership, Metronet will expand its fiber network faster and farther, reaching millions more households by the end of the decade."

KKR is making the investment in Metronet through its global infrastructure strategy. The firm first established its global infrastructure strategy in 2008 and has since been one of the most active infrastructure investors around the world, currently managing over $61 billion in infrastructure assets. KKR has significant experience investing in the growth of leading FTTH providers globally with over 25 million homes passed and building more than four million annually. This includes the creation of independent open access wholesale fiber optic network companies in Chile, Colombia, Peru and in the Netherlands and investments in Hyperoptic in the U.K., Telenor Fiber in Norway and Deutsche Glasfaser in Germany. Most recently, KKR announced the closing of its acquisition of Telecom Italia Netco, which owns and operates the entire national copper and fiber fixed line network in Italy.

The transaction is expected to close in 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. At closing, T-Mobile is expected to invest approximately $4.9 billion to acquire a 50% equity stake in the JV and 100% of Metronet’s residential fiber retail operations and customers, as well as funding of the JV.