Rural broadband provider Xplore Inc. announced Monday it has reached an agreement in principle for new debt and equity financing to fully fund its ongoing expansion of fibre-to-the-home networks in rural communities across Canada and the upgrade of its fixed wireless networks to 5G technologies.
The investment will be led by Xplore’s existing shareholder, New York private equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, and certain lenders, said a press release. Xplore’s other lenders will have the opportunity to participate “on substantially similar terms”, said the release, which did not disclose what those terms are.
“We are excited about this investment, which will enable Xplore to provide world-class broadband to even more rural communities across Canada,” Fran Shammo, Xplore’s executive chairman, said in a statement. “This agreement represents a meaningful positive milestone for Xplore and will provide significant benefits to our customers and other key stakeholders.”
Over the next several years, Xplore plans to offer gigabit-speed fibre-to-the-home services to more than 400,000 homes, “making it the largest independent fibre broadband provider serving rural Canada,” Xplore’s press release said.
“Xplore remains focused on building high-quality fibre broadband networks across rural Canada, in coordination with our government partners. With this investment, Xplore’s expanded fibre networks will provide life-changing internet access to even more underserved areas,” said Rizwan Jamal, Xplore’s president and CEO.
“Enabled by its market-leading spectrum portfolio and best-in-class Canada-based teams, Xplore is excited to roll out world class 5G-enabled fixed wireless technologies across its footprint. We are thrilled at the speeds we’re going to be able to offer all of our customers,” Jamal added.
Xplore said it has chosen to utilize the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) statute to implement the transaction, and on Monday the company commenced a proceeding under the CBCA. Xplore expects to finalize the investment over the coming weeks, it said.
