Street Talk

Dark fibre hotshot FibreconX hunts for $150m; Lazard on ticket

Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Jan 16, 2025 – 6.54pm

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Fast-growing dark fibre player FibreconX is opening up its shareholder register for a new deep-pocketed investor, as it seeks to expand its network beyond Sydney and Melbourne to meet the wave of AI-led demand for data centres.

Lazard Australia has been appointed to oversee the capital partner search, and is expected to kick off a formal process this month. The business, which is backed by Andrew Forrest’s family office Tattarang, is seeking about $150 million and will target high-profile digital infrastructure investors, according to preliminary sale documents seen by Street Talk.

Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones. Email Sarah at sarah.thompson@afr.com

Kanika Sood is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column. Email Kanika at kanika.sood@afr.com.au

Emma Rapaport is a co-editor of the Street Talk column. Prior to that, she was a markets reporter at The Australian Financial Review. Connect with Emma on Twitter. Email Emma at emma.rapaport@afr.com