• UK’s largest residential gigabit broadband provider welcomes new investor

• Hyperoptic’s gigabit capable fibre network expected to quadruple in the next three years

• Strong potential for future deployment of full fibre services in UK, from only 8% coverage today

LONDON & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 14, 2019– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Hyperoptic Ltd, the UK’s largest residential gigabit broadband provider, from funds managed by Newlight Partners LP (“Newlight”) and Mubadala Investment Company. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Hyperoptic will continue to be led by Chief Executive Officer Dana Tobak, CBE and Executive Chairman Boris Ivanovic. Founded in 2011, Hyperoptic benefits from a full fibre network covering 43 towns and cities across the UK, with gigabit broadband services passing almost 400,000 homes and businesses.

Dana Tobak stated, “We are incredibly grateful to Newlight and Mubadala for their unwavering support and significant contributions to the success of Hyperoptic. Currently, only 8% of the UK has access to full fibre and less than half of that to symmetrical gigabit services.

We are confident that with the support of KKR and their significant expertise enabling high-growth businesses, our ambitious infrastructure plans to build our hyperfast network out to two million homes by 2021 and five million by 2024 will be realised.”

Vincent Policard, Member, and Cristina Gonzalez, Director in European Infrastructure at KKR, said, “Hyperoptic has a market-leading position and superior consumer product. The business is strongly positioned to meet the growing demand for full-fibre services in the UK through further investment and national roll-out, supporting housing development and renovation. Our investment in Hyperoptic builds on KKR’s strong track record in telecommunications infrastructure in Europe, investing in and deploying next-generation digital connectivity.”

David Wassong and Ravi Yadav, co-Managing Partners at Newlight, said, “We are extremely proud to have partnered with the Hyperoptic team during its formative years to build the leading fibre broadband provided in the UK. The roll out of its hyperfast network is poised to expand rapidly in the next few years and we will continue to cheer them on from the sidelines.”

“Mubadala is proud to have been part of the Hyperoptic journey. Our ICT sector strategy is focused on investments in high growth companies with excellent management, and Hyperoptic is a prime example of that,” said Mounir Barakat, Executive Director of ICT, Mubadala.

KKR’s investment builds on the firm’s track record as an owner and operator of European telecommunications infrastructure, including major joint ventures with Telxius and Altice in Spain and France respectively focused on mobile connectivity and towers, along with its ownership of Deutsche Glasfaser, a leading German fibre broadband provider. The investment in Hyperoptic is being made through KKR’s Global Infrastructure Investors Fund III.

LionTree Advisors acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Hyperoptic and the selling shareholders in connection with the transaction.

-ENDS-

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About Hyperoptic

Hyperoptic was founded in 2011 to shake up the UK broadband market and is now the country’s largest and fastest-growing gigabit network provider. It delivers the nation’s fastest broadband speeds of up to 1Gbps (1,000 megabits per second), which is over 18x faster than the UK average.

Hyperoptic is a leader in “full” fibre optic technology, delivering fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), not just fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC). Its future-proofed infrastructure is bringing transformational internet speeds and connection stability to millions of people across the UK.

Hyperoptic works with property owners, developers and professionals, designing and installing dedicated fibre infrastructure to new buildings and existing developments.

Working with more than 200 property developers, Hyperoptic is live in 43 towns and cities with an ambition to reach 5 million homes and businesses by 2024.

The company was awarded ‘Best Superfast Broadband’ provider by the Internet Service Providers’ Association for six years in a row. In 2019 it received awards for ‘Best Customer Service’ and ‘Best Business ISP’. It has also featured in the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 for the last three years – the UK’s private tech companies with the fastest-growing sales.

Hyperoptic encourages every customer to leave a review on Trustpilot, where it has a 5* rating – significantly higher than other UK broadband providers – and it continues to stay high despite customer numbers growing rapidly.

About Newlight Partners LP

Newlight Partners LP (Newlight) is a private investment firm focused on collaborating with management teams and strategic investors to build unique, durable businesses, predominantly in North America. For more than 15 years, the Newlight team has helped build successful enterprises in five sectors, including financial services, telecommunications, power and renewable energy, healthcare services and business services. Led by David Wassong and Ravi Yadav, Newlight has invested approximately $6 billion in over 100 investments since 2005, first as the Strategic Investments Group at Soros Fund Management LLC (Soros), and now as Newlight after the team’s spin out from Soros in 2018. Newlight has approximately $4 billion in capital commitments and assets under management.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191014005279/en/

Source: KKR

KKR
Alastair Elwen
Finsbury
+44 20 7251 3801
Alastair.elwen@finsbury.com

Newlight
Jonathan Gasthalter / Nathaniel Garnick
Gasthalter & Co.
212-257-4170

Hyperoptic
Kathryn Williamson
+44 7598 790515
Kathryn.williamson@hyperoptic.co.uk