Fund Managers

GE Capital backs a wireless services company

The TMT unit of GE is providing senior financing to KORE Wireless in conjunction with ABRY Partners acquiring a majority stake in the company.

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GE Capital’s telecom, media and technology financing business has closed on a $117.3 million senior secured credit facility to support ABRY Partners’ majority stake in KORE Wireless Group. GE Capital served as the joint lead arranger and joint book runner on the facility, the Norwalk, CT-based lender announced today (17 November).

KORE is an independent managed connectivity service provider focused on the machine-to-machine (M2M) industry. The company supports 1.5 million wireless devices for 800 customers and provides a network footprint across 180 countries, oceans and areas not usually covered by cellular service through its network centers in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Melbourne. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Atlanta.

“Today, machines are able to communicate and coordinate with each other in entirely new ways, driving rapid expansion within the M2M space. We’re excited to provide financing in support of ABRY and the KORE team as they continue to grow in this sector,” Sean Sullivan, a senior vice president with GE Capital’s TMT business, said in a statement

“Machine-to-machine communications is an expanding, exciting industry. GE Capital’s telecom expertise and certainty of execution made it the ideal lender for this acquisition. We look forward to continuing our financing relationship and collaborating with GE Capital in the M2M space,” added Rob Nicewicz, vice president at ABRY Partners.

Founded in 1989, ABRY is a media, communications and business information services sector-focused private equity firm. It has completed $42 billion in transactions representing investments in 450 properties. The firm is currently investing $4.3 billion of total capital via a $1.9 billion private equity fund, $950 million senior equity/mezzanine fund and a $1.5 billion senior debt fund.

GE Capital’s TMT business has provided over $5.5 billion in financing in 2013 across 59 transactions. The unit focuses on the mid-market and provides financing capital to fund corporate growth, acquisitions and balance sheet refinancings at companies in the cable, towers, data centers, wireless, metro fiber, radio, TV, digital media, education services and software industries.