Key Takeaways
- • Olympus Partners has acquired a majority stake in Network Connex (NTI Connect) from ORIX Capital Partners, marking ORIX's exit after an eight-year ownership period that included four add-on acquisitions and significant platform expansion.
- • Network Connex operates as a mission-critical fiber installation, splicing, testing, and maintenance service provider to North American hyperscalers, cloud operators, and enterprises, with direct exposure to AI infrastructure and next-generation data center buildout.
- • ORIX assembled the platform through systematic add-on acquisitions between 2018 and 2021—including Verticom (wireless/small-cell deployment), Precision Design Services (fiber engineering in New York), and Advantage Engineers (national engineering)—creating a scaled national platform before transition.
- • Olympus Partners, a Stamford, Connecticut-based middle-market investor focused on business services and infrastructure, views Network Connex as uniquely positioned to capitalize on explosive AI and data center market growth, with experienced infrastructure scaling capabilities to drive continued expansion.
- • KPMG advised Olympus on the transaction; Lazard Frères advised ORIX Capital and Network Connex, with CEO Christopher Larocca remaining in place to lead operations from the company's Downers Grove, Illinois headquarters.
Summary
Olympus Partners has completed an acquisition of majority ownership in Network Connex (doing business as NTI Connect) from incumbent sponsor ORIX Capital Partners. The transaction represents ORIX's exit from an eight-year investment that began in 2018 when the firm acquired NTI Connect from O2 Investment Partners as a three-company platform comprising National Technologies, CCSI Networks, and Fairhaven Integration Services.
Network Connex provides critical infrastructure services including fiber installation, splicing, testing, validation, and maintenance to hyperscalers, cloud operators, and large North American enterprises. The company's service portfolio directly supports the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure and next-generation data centers, positioning it within a high-growth segment of the digital infrastructure market. Under ORIX's stewardship, the platform was systematically scaled through four add-on acquisitions: Verticom (December 2019), which added turnkey wireless and small-cell deployment capabilities; Precision Design Services (June 2020), strengthening fiber network engineering capabilities in the New York metropolitan area; and Advantage Engineers (April 2021), a national engineering and design firm that further broadened service offerings across the portfolio.
Olympus Partners, founded in 1988 and based in Stamford, Connecticut, brings established experience investing in and scaling infrastructure and business services companies. According to Matt Boyd, a partner at Olympus, the firm views Network Connex as "a trusted partner to hyperscalers and data center operators, delivering a unique combination of scale, speed, and quality nationwide." Matt Bujor, a principal at Olympus, highlighted the timing advantage, noting that Network Connex is "uniquely positioned to capitalize on the explosive growth in the AI and data center markets." CEO Christopher Larocca, who continues to lead the company from its Downers Grove, Illinois headquarters, stated that Olympus's strategic support will "accelerate our growth, expand our capabilities, and further strengthen our position as a leading provider of mission-critical services to the data center ecosystem."
ORIX Capital Partners, which invests $75 million to $250 million per transaction in middle-market North American businesses within business services, infrastructure services, and industrials, achieved what managing director Matt Scullion characterized as "a significant achievement for the ORIX Capital Partners portfolio" with "an outcome aligned with the interests of the business and our investors." The transaction was advised by KPMG (for Olympus) and Lazard Frères (for ORIX Capital and Network Connex). The deal underscores sustained institutional appetite for infrastructure service providers positioned to benefit from the ongoing capital deployment cycle in AI and data center expansion.
Network Connex provides critical infrastructure services including fiber installation, splicing, testing, validation, and maintenance to hyperscalers, cloud operators, and large North American enterprises. The company's service portfolio directly supports the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure and next-generation data centers, positioning it within a high-growth segment of the digital infrastructure market. Under ORIX's stewardship, the platform was systematically scaled through four add-on acquisitions: Verticom (December 2019), which added turnkey wireless and small-cell deployment capabilities; Precision Design Services (June 2020), strengthening fiber network engineering capabilities in the New York metropolitan area; and Advantage Engineers (April 2021), a national engineering and design firm that further broadened service offerings across the portfolio.
Olympus Partners, founded in 1988 and based in Stamford, Connecticut, brings established experience investing in and scaling infrastructure and business services companies. According to Matt Boyd, a partner at Olympus, the firm views Network Connex as "a trusted partner to hyperscalers and data center operators, delivering a unique combination of scale, speed, and quality nationwide." Matt Bujor, a principal at Olympus, highlighted the timing advantage, noting that Network Connex is "uniquely positioned to capitalize on the explosive growth in the AI and data center markets." CEO Christopher Larocca, who continues to lead the company from its Downers Grove, Illinois headquarters, stated that Olympus's strategic support will "accelerate our growth, expand our capabilities, and further strengthen our position as a leading provider of mission-critical services to the data center ecosystem."
ORIX Capital Partners, which invests $75 million to $250 million per transaction in middle-market North American businesses within business services, infrastructure services, and industrials, achieved what managing director Matt Scullion characterized as "a significant achievement for the ORIX Capital Partners portfolio" with "an outcome aligned with the interests of the business and our investors." The transaction was advised by KPMG (for Olympus) and Lazard Frères (for ORIX Capital and Network Connex). The deal underscores sustained institutional appetite for infrastructure service providers positioned to benefit from the ongoing capital deployment cycle in AI and data center expansion.
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