Bain Capital and Tillman close $1.5 billion Eaton Fiber investment

Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings said on October 13, 2026 that they had completed a $1.5 billion investment in Eaton Fiber, a Tillman affiliate, and that Eaton Fiber had closed its purchase of Ripple Fiber. The two transactions were first announced in July 2026, according to a Business Wire release issued by the firms.

The money and the enlarged platform are meant to speed construction of fiber networks that will carry Verizon broadband to more than 1 million addresses beyond the carrier's existing fiber territory. Under the companies' commercial arrangement, Eaton Fiber pays for, builds, maintains and runs the network, and Verizon is the sole retail seller of residential and small business fiber service on it.

As part of the closing, Verizon took on most of Ripple Fiber's customer base, which will be moved onto Verizon's broadband platform without a break in service, and bought some Ripple network assets in North Carolina and South Carolina. Ripple's prior shareholders, Platform Investment Partners and KLT, are remaining as investors in Eaton Fiber alongside Tillman and Bain Capital.

Ripple Fiber, based in Charlotte, was started in 2021 by chief executive Greg Wilson and operates in 10 states. Bain Capital, founded in 1984, manages about $225 billion in assets. Tillman was founded in 2013 by Sanjiv Ahuja.

This story was first reported by Business Wire.