Houlihan Lokey Advises Oak Hill Capital and Pamlico Capital
Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Oak Hill Capital (Oak Hill) and Pamlico Capital (Pamlico) have acquired IdeaTek Holdings, LLC (IdeaTek). The transaction was signed on February 22, 2025, and closed on May 16, 2025, following regulatory approvals.
Oak Hill is a leading middle-market investor in communications infrastructure and has made more than 20 investments in the sector over the past 30 years. Oak Hill is one of the most experienced fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) investors with eight active investments in FTTH platforms across the U.S., totaling approximately four million FTTH passings across its portfolio. Oak Hill was an early investor in Metronet, the largest independently owned FTTH operator in the U.S. with two million FTTH passings, which recently sold in 2024 to T-Mobile and KKR.
Pamlico, a Charlotte-based middle-market private equity firm, is a leading investor in digital infrastructure, having completed more than 15 investments over the past 30 years. Pamlico is also active in the FTTH space, having partnered with Oak Hill in its investment in Vexus Fiber, a Texas-based FTTH provider that merged into Metronet in early 2022.
IdeaTek is a leading Kansas-based broadband service provider with 20+ years of successful operating history. IdeaTek has partnered with Oak Hill and Pamlico to accelerate the expansion of its ultra-fast fiber-optic internet services across Kansas.
As part of IdeaTek’s growth strategy, the company plans to expand its fiber network into new towns and underserved areas across Kansas, beginning with Emporia, Baxter Springs, Liberal, Leoti, Tribune, Garden City, and Wichita, with anticipated extension to additional Kansas communities expected to be announced.
This transaction follows Oak Hill and Pamlico’s acquisition of Socket Fiber (Socket), a Missouri-based fiber internet service provider, which will be combined with IdeaTek to create a scaled Midwest fiber internet service provider. Jim Gleason, a seasoned broadband executive with a long-standing track record of success in partnership with both Oak Hill and Pamlico, including most recently as CEO of Vexus Fiber, has been appointed to the role of Executive Chairman of the combined company.
Both Socket and IdeaTek will remain as distinct brands with local management, preserving their individual identities and the relationships they have built within their respective communities. The combined companies intend to use the significant capital from Oak Hill and Pamlico to expand across the Midwest with a target to pass more than 500,000 homes in the Midwest with their fiber networks by 2028.
Peppertree Capital (Peppertree), an existing IdeaTek investor, will sell its current stake to Oak Hill and Pamlico as part of the transaction while making a new investment alongside the two firms from its latest fund.
Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive buyside financial advisor to Oak Hill and Pamlico.
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