H.I.G. Capital Acquires Assets of Subsea Fiber Equipment Maker Xtera

H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity investment firm with over €20 billion of equity capital under management, announced that it has acquired substantially all the assets of Xtera Communications, Inc., a provider of innovative and bespoke subsea fiber optic solutions. H.I.G. previously provided debtor-in-possession financing to the Xtera debtors in connection with the chapter 11 case.

Established in 1998 and based in the UK (Harold Wood, Essex) and the US (Allen, Texas), Xtera supplies unrepeatered and repeatered subsea systems, using high performance optical amplifiers to carry data. Under H.I.G.’s ownership, Xtera’s management and technical team will remain at the helm of the business, focused on successfully executing key existing customer contracts and expanding the business in the rapidly growing markets it serves with a clear roadmap of disruptive product launches.

Carl Harring, Managing Director at H.I.G. Capital, commented, “We believe Xtera has considerable growth potential as an independent, well-funded business with a new ownership structure. Its world class IP protected technology is not only differentiated and superior to that of its competitors, but it is delivered to an impressive range of global clients at a cost-effective price point. We are excited to be working with this industry-leading team and our immediate focus will be to work with them to deliver and build on existing contracts and over the long-term, provide the financial support to enable the company to fully capitalize on its technology with a broader base of customers.”

Stuart Barnes, Founder of Xtera, added, “We are delighted to announce our new partnership with H.I.G. Capital, which has previously invested in the fiber-optics sector and has a proven understanding of how to grow specialist industrial suppliers into market-leading players. We share the same vision of strengthening Xtera’s footprint in the future.”

This investment follows H.I.G.’s recent successful sale of Fibercore, a UK-based designer and manufacturer of specialty optical fiber. Under H.I.G.’s ownership Fibercore grew from a niche producer into a world leading provider of optical fiber to a range of high tech industries. H.I.G. acquired Fibercore from Cisco, in a carve-out transaction back in 2011.