In $10 billion deal, T-Mobile acquiring Evansville-based Metronet

EVANSVILLE − T-Mobile is buying Evansville-based Metronet, an Internet service provider servicing more than 2 million homes and businesses across 17 states.

"Following the transaction’s close, Metronet will become a wholesale services provider for its retail customers and 100% of its residential fiber retail operations and customers will transition to T-Mobile," a news release issued Wednesday morning stated.

The deal is a joint venture between T-Mobile and investment firm KKR. T-Mobile's investment is an eye-popping $4.9 billion for a 50 percent equity stake, according to the news release. KKR's share of the investment brings the deal total to around $10 billion.

The transaction is expected to close in 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Metronet boasts more than 3,000 employees and has customers in more than 275 communities. It was PCMag's "Fastest Major ISP for 2023," and bills itself as the country's "largest and fastest-growing privately owned fiber-to-home comany."

In Evansville, Metronet's company headquarters are in the former Courier & Press building at 300 E. Walnut St. The company bought the building from Gannett in 2019.

An article on streetinsider.com breaks down the future for Metronet in this way:

"T-Mobile will have full responsibility for residential customer acquisition and support, leveraging its differentiated retail, marketing, brand and service model, and will utilize Metronet’s deep digital and fiber infrastructure expertise to expand to more households with fiber broadband services. Metronet will focus on build plans, network engineering and design, network deployment, and customer installation. Following the transaction close, Metronet is expected to be self-funding on a go forward basis and it is expected to reach 6.5 million homes passed by the end of 2030. To support this business plan T-Mobile does not expect to make any additional capital contributions to the (joint venture)."

Metronet has been headquartered in Evansville since 2000, when it bought Evansville Online. The company built its first community-wide fiber network in Greencastle, Indiana, in 2005.

"We could not be prouder to expand our strategic partnership with KKR and form a new one with T-Mobile — two global leaders in 5G wireless connectivity and digital infrastructure," Metronet CEO Dave Heimbach said in the news release. "Metronet’s 100% fiber network delivers symmetrical multi-gigabit internet service directly to homes and businesses, perfectly complementing T-Mobile’s industry-leading 5G mobile and fixed-wireless offerings to meet consumer demand for seamless, ubiquitous connectivity. With this new partnership, Metronet will expand its fiber network faster and farther, reaching millions more households by the end of the decade."

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: In $10 billion deal, T-Mobile acquiring Evansville-based Metronet