Jul 26, 2024 - Business

T-Mobile and KKR acquire fiber optic internet company Metronet

Kia Kokalitcheva

Illustration ethernet cables forming a dollar sign. — Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

T-Mobile will spend about $4.9 billion on a 50% stake in a joint venture with KKR to buy Metronet, an Evansville, Ind.-based fiber-optic internet company, from Oak Hill Capital, which will remain a minority shareholder.

Why it matters: This is the latest deal for T-Mobile, which in April said it would invest $950 million in a joint venture with EQT to buy another fiber-optic network, Lumos.

Zoom in: The deal will add access to more than two million homes and businesses across 17 states. Metronet is expected to grow to 6.5 million homes and businesses by the end of 2030, per the WSJ.

The bottom line... via the WSJ: "With T-Mobile taking on its retail operations and customers, Metronet will focus on network engineering, design and deployment, and customer installation, T-Mobile said, adding it doesn't expect to invest any additional capital to the new joint venture."

Editor's note: The story has been corrected to note that Metronet will now reach more than two million homes and businesses (not add two million customers).

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T-Mobile and KKR acquire fiber optic internet company Metronet

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