Oak Hill Capital has made yet another investment in telecommunications, announcing today its acquisition of Florida-based fiber-to-the-home provider Wire 3 from Guggenheim Investments. The price was not disclosed.
Oak Hill Capital has committed to invest up to $250 million out of its sixth flagship fund to accelerate the expansion of Wire 3’s fiber network in underserved communities across Florida. Wire 3’s existing management team members will continue leading the business, now as shareholders.
“We are delighted to form a new partnership with Oak Hill, an experienced investor in the broadband sector,” Jai Ramachandran, Wire 3 CEO, said in a prepared statement.
“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. Our goal is to empower communities with reliable and fast Internet access, fostering growth and digital opportunities for all.”
Wire 3 provides symmetrical internet speeds of up to 10 Gbps. In fact, earlier this week, the company announced that it had opted to no longer offer any speeds below a gigabit, declaring that megabit speeds are obsolete.
The provider is actively expanding its fiber network across Florida communities within Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Orange, and Marion counties. Wire 3 said its network expansion will create hundreds of new jobs at the company, as well as employment opportunities for local contractors.
Oak Hill Capital has been aggressive in its telecommunication acquisitions. The private equity firm formed Omni Fiber in 2022 with plans to deploy fiber in the Midwest, subsequently buying Ohio Telecom to fuel those plans.
Last year, Oak Hill invested in Lit Communities.
