On Wednesday, Dutch-headquartered global real assets investor DIF Capital Partners announced that it will serve as the growth capital partner of U.S. Midwest telecommunications infrastructure firm Joink, a partnership that is expected to rapidly expand Joink’s access to investment capital and accelerate its growth. Joink–which describes as “the little ISP that could”–provides enterprise and residential fiber and fixed wireless services in rural Western Indiana and Eastern Illinois.
Since its founding in 2001 as a fixed wireless company and its expansion into fiber in 2014, Joink has provided priority telecom infrastructure for education, healthcare, enterprise and other carriers. To date, Joink has installed over 540 miles of fiber across five counties (Vigo, Vermilion, Parke and Clay) in Indiana and Illinois, and operates over 100 fixed-wireless transmit points. Expansion into the single-family home and multi-dwelling unit residential markets has been a desired growth area for the company, and it appears as though DIF’s strategic partnership with Joink will focus on growing that market segment.
“DIF believes the future fiber-to-the-home roll out is critical to ensure that residents in Indiana and Illinois have reliable high-speed internet access through Joink’s fiber network,” said Willem Jansonius, Partner and Head of Investments for the DIF CIF strategy, which targets investments in small- to medium-sized infrastructure companies. “DIF is excited to partner with a well-established fiber and fixed wireless company such as Joink and its experienced management team. Joink’s approach to investing in residential fiber infrastructure fits DIF’s ambition to invest in the US fiber industry. In addition to creating local jobs, this investment helps bridge the digital divide in online education, remote employment opportunities, telemedicine and other prospects afforded by broadband access.”
“We are grateful for the support in growing our business from our team members and their families, our customers, vendors, long-term investors and financing partners, permitting authorities, state and local government, and the communities in which we live and work,” said Josh Zuerner, Joink President and CEO. “That support has enabled us to attract the investment from DIF – a world-class infrastructure investment fund. We don’t take the trust we’ve gained over the last twenty years for granted and will continue to build upon it by showcasing our unwavering commitment to high-quality Internet access.”
According to DIF, all existing Joink investors will remain invested in the company. The partnership is pending approval from relevant U.S. regulatory authorities.
