Race Communications: Fiber-to-the-Home Company Raises Over $500 Million In Capital

By Amit Chowdhry • Sep 9, 2024

Race Communications – a leading Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) provider in California – announced today that it has secured over $500 million in additional capital to accelerate the expansion of its fiber network across the state. This funding includes $375 million in equity from Oak Hill Capital, the existing majority investor, and its limited partners.

This funding also features incremental debt financing from existing lender AB Private Credit Investors, who will also participate in the equity round. This significant infusion of capital will support Race’s ambitious plan to extend its FTTH network to as many as 1 million locations throughout California over the next few years.

Launched in 1994, Race Communications is a leader in delivering high-speed internet to communities across California. And with a current reach of about 200,000 locations, Race has made significant strides in bridging the digital divide by offering reliable and fast internet service to a diverse range of communities in California, including metropolitan suburbs such as Lancaster, Chico, and Yuba City and rural areas in the Central Valley. This new funding will enable Race to enhance its efforts to connect even more Californians to the benefits of fiber-optic technology.

Race also announced the addition of two independent directors to its Board of Directors; Jim Gleason is the CEO of Vexus Fiber, a FTTH operator across Texas and surrounding states backed by Oak Hill and now a subsidiary of Metronet, and Harold Zeitz is the CEO of Ziply Fiber, a FTTH operator across the Pacific Northwest and former COO of Oak Hill-backed cable and fiber operator Wave Broadband. Gleason and Zeitz have led the expansion of their companies’ FTTH networks to underserved markets in their respective regions and we believe are well-positioned to support Race’s accelerated growth in California as board members.

KEY QUOTES:

“California presents a tremendous opportunity for fiber deployment, and this new funding allows us to ramp up our construction efforts across the state. We are thrilled to have the continued support of Oak Hill Capital and to welcome our new partners as we work together to bring world-class internet service to an even larger number of residents and businesses throughout the state.”

– Raul Alcaraz, CEO of Race Communications

“Race Communications has a strong track record of success in delivering high-quality fiber-optic services to communities across California. We are excited to deepen our commitment to Race to further enhance Race’s ability to meet the growing demand for high-speed internet in our home state of California.”

– Scott Baker, Managing Partner at Oak Hill Capital