HIG Capital has entered into a binding agreement to sell its portfolio company Xtera to a joint venture led by Prysmian and Fincantieri, marking an exit from the subsea telecommunications specialist it established in 2017.
The transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026. Financial terms have not been disclosed.
Headquartered in London, Xtera designs and delivers subsea telecom networks and operates in a sector benefiting from rising global demand for bandwidth, expanding data centre traffic and increased requirements for network resilience and redundancy. The company serves a range of clients including government agencies and major telecom operators.
HIG created Xtera through the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Xtera Communications in 2017. During the firm’s ownership, the business delivered a number of large-scale turnkey projects, including the NO-UK submarine cable system and the TAM-1 cable, which is expected to be completed in 2026 and will link Florida with Central America and the Caribbean over a distance of more than 7,000 kilometres.
Keith Henderson, chief executive of Xtera, said HIG’s backing had enabled the company to rebuild and expand its operations within the subsea telecoms market, adding that the business now looks to continue its growth under the ownership of Prysmian and Fincantieri.
John Harper, managing director at HIG in London, said the firm had worked closely with Xtera’s management team on strategic initiatives and investment in research and development, supporting the company’s expansion during its ownership period.
HIG Capital is a global alternative investment firm with approximately $72bn in assets under management, investing across private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure strategies.
