UK full-fiber broadband infrastructure provider CityFibre says it has raised £1.125 billion ($1.54 billion) in additional capital. The total includes £825 million in equity funding that includes new investors Mubadala Investment Co. of Abu Dhabi and Interogo Holding. The rest comes from a a £300 million ($409.7 million) extension of its existing £820 million ($1.13 billion) banking facilities, with Crédit Agricole CIB and National Australia Bank joining the syndicate. CityFibre says it will use the funds to support its plans to deploy broadband fiber to a third of the UK market by 2025.
Mubadala Investment Co. and Interogo Holding join existing investors Antin Infrastructure Partners and the Infrastructure business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Goldman Sachs), as minority shareholders. Crédit Agricole CIB and National Australia Bank take their places alongside ABN Amro, Banca IMI, BNP Paribas, Lloyds, NatWest, and Société Générale in the banking syndicate.
“We’re thrilled to announce the completion of a £1.125 billion capital raise, the largest ever secured to support the UK’s Full Fibre future. We also take great pleasure in welcoming Mubadala and Interogo Holding as new investors in this important project,” commented Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre. “This new capital will not only underpin our rollout to up to 8 million homes across 285 cities, towns, and villages, but will also enable our participation in the Government’s ‘Project Gigabit’ program to extend our future-proof infrastructure to rural areas and ensure no one is left behind.”
CityFibre has signed on Vodafone, TalkTalk, and Zen, as well as mobile operator 3UK, as customers. The company says it also supports 24 smaller regional consumer ISPs as well as more than 1,800 business ISPs and resellers. Services are now live in 46 markets.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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