T-Mobile, EQT Form JV to Buy Fiber Optic Company Lumos
By Chris Wack
T-Mobile and EQT have formed a joint venture with EQT's Infrastructure VI fund to buy fiber-to-the-home platform Lumos from EQT's predecessor fund, EQT Infrastructure III.
The companies said the JV will unite T-Mobile's retail, marketing, brand and customer talents with EQT's fiber infrastructure investment expertise.
After the transaction closes, Lumos will transition over to a wholesale model with T-Mobile as the anchor, or main, tenant, owning customer relationships and using its brand to attract new subscribers.
The JV will focus on market identification and selection, network engineering and design, network deployment, and customer installation.
Lumos currently reaches 320,000 households with more than 7,500 route miles with fiber optic internet and home wi-fi service in the Mid-Atlantic
The transaction is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025. At closing, T-Mobile is expected to invest $950 million in the JV to acquire a 50% equity stake and all existing fiber customers, with the funds invested by T-Mobile being used by Lumos for future fiber builds.
The next capital contribution by T-Mobile out of an additional commitment of $500 million is anticipated between 2027 and 2028. These combined investments are expected to allow Lumos to reach 3.5 million homes by the end of 2028.
Write to Chris Wack at chris.wack@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 25, 2024 09:41 ET (13:41 GMT)
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