News

Antin Infrastructure Partners has acquired Albany, New York-based FirstLight, a provider of fiber-optic data, internet, data center, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers in the Northeast. The sellers were Oak Hill Capital Partners, Novacap and Riverside Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. Bank Street Group and TD Securities were lead financial advisers to FirstLight and Oak Hill on the deal while UBS Investment Bank provided financial advice to Antin.

PRESS RELEASE

ALBANY, N.Y., July 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — FirstLight, a provider of fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the Northeast, announced today that Antin Infrastructure Partners (“Antin”) has completed the acquisition of FirstLight. Antin acquired the company from private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners (“Oak Hill”), Novacap and Riverside Partners (“Riverside”). Financial terms of the completed transaction were not disclosed.

Kevin Genieser, Senior Partner at Antin leading this transaction commented “We are delighted to be backing FirstLight in the next chapter of the company’s history as it continues to expand its footprint in the Northeast. We strongly believe that fiber is an essential backbone to support and serve the constantly growing demands for bandwidth and data traffic. In FirstLight, we see the right platform and team to succeed in this rapidly growing sector.”

“This is an exciting development for FirstLight and enhances our position as a leading fiber provider in the Northeast. We look forward to this new chapter with Antin, and all it promises for our customers and employees,” said Kurt Van Wagenen, President and Chief Executive Officer of FirstLight. “I would like to thank Oak Hill, Novacap and Riverside for their terrific support throughout the years of our strong partnership, which enabled us to quadruple in size, enhance our portfolio of services and expand our fiber network through organic growth and acquisitions, such as Oxford Networks, Sovernet Communications, Finger Lakes Technologies Group and 186 Communications. They have done an outstanding job in helping us create and execute on a blueprint for accelerating growth that we plan to build on as we move forward as an Antin portfolio company.”

“We at Oak Hill are honored to have been a part of FirstLight’s outstanding growth story. We are proud of the company’s performance and, more importantly, grateful for the rewarding partnership we shared with FirstLight’s dedicated management team and employees,” said Scott Baker and Benjy Diesbach, Partners at Oak Hill. “Oak Hill wishes FirstLight continued success under the ownership of Antin Infrastructure Partners.”

Bank Street Group and TD Securities served as lead financial advisors to FirstLight and Oak Hill in connection with the transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Morgan Lewis served as legal counsel to FirstLight and Oak Hill. UBS Investment Bank served as exclusive financial advisor to Antin and Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis served as legal counsel.

For more information on FirstLight, visit http://www.firstlight.net.

About FirstLight
FirstLight, headquartered in Albany, New York, provides fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the Northeast connecting nearly 8,000 locations in service with more than 20,000 locations serviceable by our 14,000-route mile network. FirstLight offers a robust suite of advanced telecommunications products featuring a comprehensive portfolio of high bandwidth connectivity solutions including Ethernet, wavelength and dark fiber services as well as dedicated Internet access solutions, data center, cloud and voice services. FirstLight’s clientele includes national cellular providers and wireline carriers and many leading enterprises, spanning high tech manufacturing and research, hospitals and healthcare, banking and financial, secondary education, colleges and universities, and local and state governments.

To learn more about FirstLight, visit www.firstlight.net, or follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Antin Infrastructure Partners
Antin Infrastructure Partners is a leading independent private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments. Based in London and Paris with 13 partners and a total of over 75 professionals, Antin manages three funds that invest in infrastructure and target controlling stakes for investments in the energy and environment, telecommunication, transportation and social infrastructure sectors. The firm has raised €7.4 billion ($9.2 billion) from over 100 blue-chip institutional investors and has made investments in 21 companies to date. For more information, please visit www.antin-ip.com.