Monday, October 14, 2019

KKR acquires majority stake in Hyperoptic, a broadband provider in UK

KKR, a leading global investment firm, has acquired a majority stake in Hyperoptic Ltd, a residential gigabit broadband provider in the UK, from funds managed by Newlight Partners LP (“Newlight”) and Mubadala Investment Company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Hyperoptic was founded in 2011. Its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) passes 400,000 homes and businesses. 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 will continue to be led by Chief Executive Officer Dana Tobak, CBE and Executive Chairman Boris Ivanovic.

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.

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.”