Horizon, which began as a local telephone system company over 120 years ago, today stands as a premier provider of fiber-optic bandwidth infrastructure services across the Midwest. Operating 5,500+ route miles of fiber, Horizon provides high-quality connectivity solutions for small to large enterprise and wholesale carrier customers, where high reliability and high availability are critical.
This week, Horizon announced that GCM Grosvenor, a global alternative asset management solutions provider, made a strategic investment in Horizon that amounted to a significant ownership stake in the company. GCM Grosvenor joins the existing investor group led by Novacap TMT, one of Canada’s leading private equity firms. Novacap’s initial investment in 2018 helped supplement the Horizon leadership team with other experienced telecom operators, allowing Horizon to enter new markets and accelerate the growth of its broadband business. Today, GCM Grosvenor’s investment will further bolster Horizon’s growth throughout Ohio and the Midwest.
GCM Grosvenor’s strategic investment was made as part of its Labor Impact Strategy that seeks to originate and execute infrastructure projects to leverage the inclusion of union labor as a contributing factor to enabling attractive risk-adjusted returns. Horizon’s partnerships with carriers, government, healthcare, education and enterprise businesses custom-fit the company for GCM Grosvenor’s Labor Impact Strategy. Horizon works with each of these entities to offer flexible and customizable fiber network solutions with a remarkable commitment to customer care and cutting-edge fiber-optic technology.
GCM Grosvenor was drawn to Horizon because of the company’s trajectory of continual growth and success in meeting the growing needs of customers across the midwest. Recently, Horizon launched Fiber to the Home (FTTH) initiatives, completing an initial greenfield fiber build in Circleville, Ohio. Six more builds are in the works, and Horizon seeks to capitalize on more market opportunities throughout the state. GCM Grosvenor’s investment, as well as its expertise in the telecom and fiber-optic infrastructure sector, will propel Horizon to continue its network expansion and provide superior services to its customers throughout the region.
“With world-class partners such as Novacap and GCM Grosvenor at our side, Horizon has a significant advantage to continue on this path of growth and transformation,” says Jim Capuano, CEO of Horizon. “Our new partnership with GCM Grosvenor will allow us to enhance our services for our existing customers while pursuing new markets in the years ahead.”
To learn more about Horizon, please visit www.horizonconnects.com. To read this press release in its entirety, click here.
