On the latest episode of Behind the Buyouts, Oak Hill Capital Management LLC managing partner Scott Baker walks listeners through the firm’s 11-year investment in Metronet Inc., an early mover in the push to spool fiber to homes throughout the country.

“We spent four years working with the family to execute a proof of concept that this business could scale,” Baker said, noting that Metronet grew 20 to 30 times in Oak Hill’s portfolio.

Oak Hill and the family sold a majority stake in Metronet to T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) and KKR & Co. (KKR) in July. The investment serves as a microcosm for the development of the fiber industry and as a primer for the PE firm’s playbook.

Baker walked listeners through the S-curve of the fiber-to-the-home industry over the past 15 years, from proof of concept and proof of execution to the investment boom that coincided with the Covid lockdowns and beyond.

“Superimposed on that S-curve is the greed and fear cycle of the markets,” Baker said.

The story isn’t over. The firm still holds a position and this summer invested in fiber operators IdeaTek Telcom and Socket Telecom with Pamlico Capital Management LP.

With tens of millions of homes still to be wired, while infrastructure investors and wireless carriers circle the sector, the fiber S-curve will play out for years to come.

Check out the podcast with Scott Baker below:

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