Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings( Tillman) have invested US $ 1.5 billion in Eaton Fiber, an affiliate of Tillman, to accelerate the expansion of Verizon fiber broadband through fibre network deployment across the United States.

The investment, led by Bain Capital’ s Special Situations team, funds the acquisition of Ripple Fiber and the next phase of Eaton Fiber’ s network expansion. Eaton Fiber has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ripple Fiber, a leading 100 % fibre-optic Internet provider and network operator.

The acquisition is the first step in Eaton Fiber’ s buy-and-build strategy to bring Verizon fiber broadband to more than one million locations outside Verizon’ s current fiber footprint through organic construction and acquisitions.

Ripple Fiber’ s existing shareholders, Platform Investment Partners and KLT, will continue to back the Eaton Fiber platform alongside Tillman and Bain Capital. fiber-to-the-premise platforms, even as demand for high-quality broadband continues to grow. Wholesale fiber platforms have emerged as the most capital-efficient way to close that gap at scale,” said Angelo Rufino, Head of North America Special Situations and Head of Corporate Special Situations in Europe, Bain Capital.

“ Fiber is the critical backbone of digital infrastructure required to meet the evolving needs of our customers and power the rapid expansion of AI,” said Dan Schulman, Verizon CEO.

“ Expanding the reach of Verizon fiber is central to our growth and convergence strategy, and this partnership gives us a highly capital-efficient model to extend Verizon’ s award-winning fiber broadband experience to more customers outside of our core footprint. We are excited to welcome Ripple Fiber’ s customers to Verizon and provide them with an outstanding customer experience from day one.”

“ This transaction marks an important milestone in the evolution of Eaton Fiber,” said Sachit Ahuja, Co-President of Tillman and Co-Founder of Eaton Fiber.

“ The acquisition of Ripple Fiber meaningfully strengthens Eaton Fiber’ s relationship with Verizon, while the partnership and long-term capital from Bain Capital provide additional resources to accelerate its fiber deployment. Together, these steps position Eaton Fiber to further enhance its strong build momentum and expand its geographic reach.”

“ As a wholesale fiber network platform, we will do what we do best, working within communities to deliver state-of-the-art fiber connectivity at scale across the US Through our acquisition by Eaton Fiber, we are well positioned, with our wealth of knowledge on operating wholesale networks, to accelerate our mission of connecting millions of homes and businesses to reliable, future-proof fiber for generations to come,” said Greg Wilson, Founder & CEO, Ripple Fiber. •

The investment builds on the commercial agreement between Verizon and Eaton Fiber announced in October 2025, further advancing Verizon’ s broadband and mobility convergence strategy.

Under the agreement, Eaton Fiber funds, builds, maintains and operates the network. Verizon serves as the exclusive retail provider of residential and small business fibre services and is responsible for sales, marketing and end-user customer service.

“ The US. fiber market is at a critical inflection point. Higher interest rates and tighter capital markets have constrained supply for standalone

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INTELLIGENT CIO NORTH AMERICA

Intelligent CIO North America Issue 73 | Page 31

Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings announce US $ 1.5 billion investment in Eaton Fiber to power the expansion of Verizon fiber broadband across the United States

Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings( Tillman) have invested US $ 1.5 billion in Eaton Fiber, an affiliate of Tillman, to accelerate the expansion of Verizon fiber broadband through fibre network deployment across the United States.