T-Mobile to invest $950 million in venture with EQT to buy fiber optic network provider Lumos

(Reuters) - Wireless carrier T-Mobile US expects to invest about $950 million for a 50% stake in a joint venture with Swedish investment firm EQT's fund that will buy fiber optic network provider Lumos, the companies said on Thursday. Washington-based T-Mobile will invest another $500 million between 2027 to 2028 to help Lumos reach 3.5 million homes by the end of the period. T-Mobile will acquire all existing fiber customers of Lumos as part of the deal with EQT's Infrastructure VI fund, which is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025.

Lumos, which provides its fiber internet to 320,000 households, will transition to a wholesale model after the deal with T-Mobile as its main client, owning customer relationships.

"As the demand for reliable, low-latency connectivity rapidly increases, this deal is .... a significant step forward in expanding on our broadband success and continue shaking up competition in this space to bring even more value and choice to consumers," said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)