H.I.G. Capital announced an affiliate has entered into a binding agreement to sell Xtera Limited, a London-headquartered provider of subsea telecom network systems, to a joint venture led by Prysmian S.p.A. and Fincantieri S.p.A. The sale remains subject to regulatory approvals, and completion is expected in the first quarter of 2026.
Xtera operates in the subsea telecom networks market, which H.I.G. said is seeing rapid growth driven by global demand for bandwidth, increased focus on connectivity and redundancy, and rising data center traffic. The company’s customers include the U.S. Department of Defense and large telecom operators, according to the announcement.
H.I.G. established Xtera in 2017 through the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Xtera Communications, Inc. During H.I.G.’s ownership, Xtera delivered multiple turnkey projects, including the NO-UK submarine cable system and the TAM-1 system, which is expected to complete in 2026 and will span more than 7,000 kilometers linking Florida with Central America and the Caribbean.
KEY QUOTES:
“H.I.G. has been an exceptional partner to Xtera since establishing the Company in 2017. Through H.I.G.’s investment, we have been able to rebuild a formidable competitor in the subsea telecoms industry, with substantial growth in all of our operations. We look forward to continuing this momentum under the ownership of Prysmian and Fincantieri to deliver even greater breadth across the value chain.”
Keith Henderson, CEO, Xtera
“We have proudly supported the Xtera team as they have developed into a leading provider in the fast-growing subsea telecoms market. We were able to successfully partner with Keith and the rest of his team across various strategic initiatives and investments in R&D, which has allowed the Company to achieve significant growth during our ownership period. We look forward to seeing the continued success of the Company under its new ownership.”
John Harper, Managing Director, H.I.G. (London)
