Morrison and a group of investors co-led the acquisition of FiberLight, the leading digital infrastructure provider

ATLANTA AND NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A consortium led by funds managed by HRL Morrison & Co (“Morrison & Co”), a leading global infrastructure investment firm focused on the digital and renewable energy sectors, and including Australian Retirement Trust (“ART”) and a managed client of UBS Asset Management, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire FiberLight, LLC (“FiberLight”), a leading provider of fiber infrastructures with more than 20 years of experience in the construction and operation of high-bandwidth critical networks, from Thermo Enterprises. The investment will accelerate FiberLight’s network expansion, positioning it to take advantage of the rapidly growing fiber infrastructure market. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, FiberLight is one of the top ten providers of high-bandwidth fiber optic infrastructure in the United States. of Texas and the Northern Virginia region, the largest data center market in the world. The company builds, owns and operates state-of-the-art, high-capacity networks and has a proven track record of execution for national and international large-scale wireless, wireline, cable and cloud service providers, as well as for major business, government and educational clientele. FiberLight’s seasoned management team, led by Managing Director Christopher Rabii, will continue to lead the company through its next phase of growth and development.

Mr. Rabii said: “With our existing backbone infrastructure and unmatched density in the markets we serve, FiberLight is well equipped to deploy a host of solutions to ensure our customers can meet their growing bandwidth needs. Morrison & Co is our ideal new partner to support our growth strategy because of their commitment of capital and resources and their shared belief that fiber infrastructure is key to bridging the digital divide and the rapid expansion needed to meet extraordinary long-term demand.

Building on its more than 30 years of infrastructure investing experience, Morrison & Co’s investment in FiberLight marks its first investment in the North American digital infrastructure market and third in the northern market. American, following investments in Longroad Energy and Clearvision Ventures, as the company expands its field presence in the region. Morrison & Co opened its New York office in 2021 and has since grown the team to 10 investment professionals, including Morrison & Co Chief Investment Officer William Smales. Morrison & Co has significant expertise in digital infrastructure and its portfolio of integrated digital assets includes Vodafone NZ, Amplitel Towers, CDC Data Centres, Kao Data Centres, Fore Freedom and Australian Registry Investments.

Perry Offutt, Head of North America for Morrison & Co, said:We are pleased to support FiberLight, a recognized provider of essential connectivity services to hundreds of businesses. As the company continues to expand and deepen its presence in key U.S. markets, we will leverage our significant expertise in digital infrastructure and partner with management to meet the growing demand for access Faster, more secure and more reliable Internet.

Michael Weaver, Head of Real and Medium Risk Private Assets at Australian Retirement Trust, added: “We recognize the essential role of broadband connections in today’s society, and look forward to working with the team to help build the communications infrastructure for the future.

Mr. Smales concluded: “This investment aligns closely with Morrison & Co’s strategy of supporting strong, purpose-driven companies with highly defensive characteristics and reliable long-term cash flows, supported by growing consumer and business demand. for high-speed broadband connectivity. As we actively expand our business in the United States, FiberLight presents an attractive investment opportunity for our investors due to its innovative business model and strong growth potential.

The acquisition is expected to be completed following the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Bank Street acted as exclusive financial advisor and Taft acted as legal advisor to FiberLight. TD Securities acted as exclusive financial advisor and Torys LLC acted as legal advisor to Morrison & Co.

About FiberLight

FiberLight designs, builds and deploys mission-critical high-speed networks to trigger our customers’ digital transformation. With approximately 18,000 miles of fiber optic networks and 78,000 pre-qualified buildings, FiberLight operates in more than 30 metropolitan areas in the United States. Our service portfolio includes high capacity ethernet and air carrier services, Cloud Connect, Dedicated Internet Access, Dark Fiber and Wireless Backhaul serving national and international carriers, wireless, wireline, cable service providers and cloud as well as key players in business, government and education. For more information, visit fiberlight.com or follow us on Twitter @FiberLight_LLC.

About Morrison & Co.

HRL Morrison & Co (US), LLC is a registered investment adviser with the Securities Exchange Commission and is part of the Morrison & Co group. Morrison & Co is a global infrastructure investment management specialist, founded in 1988. Morrison & Co manages multiple client mandates, with total funds under management in excess of US$17 billion as of March 31, 2022. Morrison & Co is a pioneer in innovative infrastructure investing, supporting businesses that contribute to improve the lives of local communities. It invests on behalf of sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, family offices, endowments and other public and private capital pools. For more information, visit https://hrlmorrison.com/ & LinkedIn.

About the Australian Retirement Trust

Australian Retirement Trust (ART) is the retirement fund formed by the merger of Sunsuper and QSuper. One of Australia’s largest, it proudly manages over $200 billion in retirement savings for over two million members. As a fund that works for members, not shareholders, ART works in the best interests of members and is committed to returning benefits to them in the form of lower fees and better services.