CityFibre has become the UK’s second largest wholesale broadband infrastructure provider after securing new funding and acquiring KCOM’s national network assets.
The funding of £180 million allowed CityFibre to finance the acquisition of KCOM’s fibre and duct assets, excluding those in Hull and East Yorkshire, for £90 million.
This expanded CityFibre’s footprint to 36 cities and will allow CityFibre to target 50 cities by 2020, or 20 percent of the UK market.
£80 million of the financing comes from new equity, while £100 million comes through debt facilities. Both transactions are set to be completed in mid-January.
The buy will make CityFibre the largest infrastructure provider behind BT Openreach, with the addition of 1,100 km of duct and fibre network in 24 UK cities, as well as 1,100 km of national long distance network that connects these cities to major data-centres across the UK and to internet peering points in London.
CityFibre plans to build on the acquisition by accelerating commercialisation through its portfolio of partner providers. So far this has seen work alongside EE, Three, Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone.
Unlike BT Openreach, CityFibre is able to offer gigabit speeds through its broadband, as it provides fibre directly to the home.
CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch said: "This is the most significant event to take place in the UK’s digital infrastructure market in a decade. The UK now has a secure independent infrastructure alternative.
"Cities, service providers, mobile operators and investors have boldly embraced a new model of future-proof infrastructure provision and paved the way for its acceleration across the country."
"With our enlarged footprint and strong pipeline of cities demanding better infrastructure, we will continue to grow, offering existing and new partners an ever increasing opportunity to capitalise on a pure fibre future."
