LiveOak Fiber, a regional broadband service provider founded in 2022, has secured $250 million in financing underwritten by J.P. Morgan.
This funding will be used to supercharge LiveOak’s expansion of its 100% fiber broadband network to underserved communities in the Southeast United States.
Since its founding, LiveOak has grown into a regional network operator serving business and residential customers in Bay, Okaloosa and Walton Counties, Florida and Camden, Chatham and Glynn Counties, Georgia.
The company has exceeded market expectations, completing 50% of its Georgia and Florida network builds as of May 2024.
This includes deploying more than $200 million in investment to date, constructing and lighting more than 1,000 miles of fiber and unlocking access to educational resources, telehealth services and economic opportunities previously out of reach in these areas.
J.P. Morgan’s financing will enable LiveOak to continue its progress and expand further into new and existing communities.
“We are proud of our progress to build much needed digital infrastructure which supports communities across the Southeast to meet their connectivity needs,” said Jody Craft, CEO, LiveOak. “This financing will be used to continue our expansion in Florida and Georgia as well as the surrounding region. We see this as an important step and shows our team’s continued commitment to growth.”
Steve Smith, LiveOak Co-Founder and CRO, said: “We appreciate our financial partners for their support.
“As we continue to expand, we remain committed to investing in our markets to provide best-in-class service for our customers and the communities we serve. We are intensifying our focus on these markets and the transformative infrastructure we deliver.”
In May 2024, LiveOak reached a major milestone seeing 50% of the Georgia broadband expansion completed – extending reach to thousands of customers across planned, existing and new areas of the state.
By then, LiveOak had invested just over $100M in Georgia to date – building more than 1,000 miles of fiber, supporting businesses and residents in growing communities.
Upon completion, the 100% buried fiber network will serve approximately 150,000 passings across coastal Georgia. In addition to the network investments, LiveOak has also created 100+ new jobs for residents in the areas it serves.
In June 2024 LiveOak earned a Great Place To Work certification for a second year in a row.
At the time, Craft said: “We consider employee experience a top priority every day. We owe our continued success to our team of dedicated employees – we celebrate and thank them for all they do to earn this incredible recognition.”
Jennifer Powers, Vice President of People, LiveOak Fiber, said: “This certification is a testament to our ongoing commitment to fostering a collaborative workplace where team members can thrive. We know that happy employees make happy customers – and this helps drive our remarkable success.”
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