The owners of ACT Fibernet have decided to sell the company for around $1 billion, three people familiar with the development said, five years after a failed deal to sell the broadband internet provider.
Private equity firms True North and TA Associates have appointed investment banks Nomura and Ambit Capital to find potential buyers for Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd, which provides ACT Fibernet internet services in more than 30 cities, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. The two PE firms jointly hold 94.66% in ACT Fibernet, according to CareEdge Ratings.
“The investors have been around for more than a decade,” one of the three people said, adding that they have appointed banks for the deal. The banks have sent the information memorandum to prospective buyers and will sign non-disclosure agreements with them soon, the person said.
The sale plan puts the company back on the block. In 2021, Swiss private equity firm Partners Group had agreed to acquire buy 75% stake in ACT Fibernet from True North and at an enterprise value of roughly $1.2 billion. However, the sale fell through.
“The deal is in initial stages. Large private equity buyout funds and infrastructure-focused investors have been approached,” the second person said.
Bengaluru-based ACT Fibernet was founded by Sunder Raju and K Nagaraju in 2000. Since Reliance Jio and Airtel have cornered much of the broadband market in the last five years, the ACT Fibernet buyer must be ready with a detailed plan to scale and monetize the business, the third person said.
A Nomura spokesperson declined to comment. Queries emailed to True North, TA Associates and Ambit Capital remained unanswered.
According to CareEdge rating, the wired broadband segment expanded at a strong compounded annual growth rate of about 19% in three years ending FY25, supported by rising digital consumption, enterprise digitalization, and government initiatives such as BharatNet. However, there is heightened competition from telecom service providers, it added.
“The industry recorded a growth of ~3% in FY25 and ~9% in 9MFY26. Despite the competition from telcos, and alternative technologies, ACT recorded net subscriber additions of 2.5% in FY25 and 3.3% in 9MFY26, per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India data. The company remains the largest non-telco internet service provider in India,” it said.
Although market share moderated slightly to 5.2% as of 31 December, 2025 (from 5.5% as of 31 March, 2025), ACT continues to differentiate itself through high network uptime, superior service quality, and value-added offerings such as technology upgrades and bundled over-the-top (OTT) services, supporting customer retention and growth.
As per the CareEdge release, ACT’s operating income grew 4% to reach ₹2,204 crore in FY25. “Revenue growth remained measured in FY25 due to modest growth in subscribers and an increasing average revenue per user (ARPU), considering intense competition from major telcos. Operating profitability decreased to 34.71% in FY25 from 37.07% in FY24, mainly due to distribution expenses aimed at customer retention and acquisition. Operating profitability remains healthy at 35.35% for 9MFY26. The entity’s ability to maintain operating profitability will remain a key credit monitorable,” it said.
In a June 2025 research report, India Brand Equity Foundation or IBEF said quoting GlobalData that India’s fixed communication services market is set for steady growth, with revenue projected to rise from Rs. 1,09,632 crore ($12.8 billion) in 2024 to Rs. 1,41,323 crore ($16.5 billion) in 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2%.
“This growth will be fuelled by rising demand for high-speed broadband, particularly fibre broadband and fixed wireless access (FWA). While revenue from fixed voice communication is expected to decline at 1.7% annually due to falling average revenue per user and the rise of mobile/app-based calls, fixed broadband services will grow at a 5.7% CAGR. Fibre optic connections, which accounted for the majority of new broadband subscriptions, are expected to comprise 94% of India’s total broadband lines by 2029, aided by government and private investment in fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure,” it said.