Bluepeak – a leading provider of fiber broadband to residential and commercial customers in communities across the Great Plains region – announced that funds managed by Ares Management’s Infrastructure Opportunities and Alternative Credit strategies have made a strategic investment into Bluepeak.
Since the 2021 acquisition by GI Data Infrastructure, Bluepeak expanded its regional footprint across five states and has constructed a fiber network to over 140,000 new homes. And the investment from Ares will provide Bluepeak with fresh capital intended to help further accelerate its growth plans across the Great Plains region.
Bank Street Group LLC and TD Securities (USA) served as financial advisors to Bluepeak and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to the company. And Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Ares.
KEY QUOTES:
“Bluepeak is committed to providing reliable, high-speed internet and top-tier customer service to our communities. We are incredibly proud of the Bluepeak team’s accomplishments to date, and we are excited to bring our services to additional communities with the benefit of this capital injection from Ares.”
– Rich Fish, CEO of Bluepeak
“Bluepeak has developed a differentiated fiber platform that provides efficient, reliable, and critical service to families and businesses across the Great Plains region. We are pleased to support the Company’s experienced management team with this structured investment, which we believe will help accelerate its expansion strategy into several attractive markets.”
– Keith Derman, Co-Head of the Ares Infrastructure Opportunities strategy
“Over the past three years, Bluepeak has grown far beyond our initial expectations, and we believe this investment positions the Company for long-term profitable growth. Ares is an experienced investor in this space, they have approached this investment in a very thoughtful way, and we look forward to a fruitful relationship with them.”
– Mark Prybutok, Managing Director and Co-Head of GI Data Infrastructure
“We look forward to working with GI Data Infrastructure and Bluepeak. This investment is an example of the collaborative strengths and scale of Ares’ platform, bringing together the Infrastructure Opportunities and Alternative Credit strategies to provide Bluepeak with flexible capital tied to an emerging asset class.”
– Joel Holsinger, Co-Head of the Ares Alternative Credit Strategy
