Bain Capital leads $1.5bn investment in Eaton Fiber; THL leverages AI value creation strategy in AMI sale

Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings have agreed to a $1.5 billion investment in Eaton Fiber, an affiliate of Tillman. The transaction will accelerate the expansion of Verizon fiber broadband through fiber network deployment across the United States.

The investment, which was led by Bain Capital’s Special Situations team, fully funds the acquisition of Ripple Fiber and the next phase of Eaton Fiber’s network expansion. The investment builds on the commercial agreement between Verizon and Eaton Fiber announced in October 2025, further advancing Verizon’s broadband and mobility convergence strategy.

Under the agreement, Eaton Fiber funds, builds, maintains, and operates the network.

Verizon serves as the exclusive retail provider of residential and small business fiber services and is responsible for sales, marketing, and end-user customer service, expanding fiber broadband availability into new areas.

> “The US fiber market is at a critical inflection point,” Angelo Rufino, head of North America special situations and head of corporate special situations in Europe at Bain Capital, said in a statement. “Higher interest rates and tighter capital markets have constrained supply for standalone fiber-to-the-premise platforms, even as demand for high-quality broadband continues to grow. Wholesale fiber platforms have emerged as the most capital-efficient way to close that gap at scale”

As part of the deal, Verizon will acquire Ripple Fiber’s existing customers, who will transition to Verizon’s fiber broadband platform over a period of time following closing. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2026.

Private equity investments

THL Partners completed its sale of AMI, a Duluth, Georgia-based provider of firmware and platform management solutions, to Lattice Semiconductor. As part of the transaction, THL will retain an equity ownership interest in Lattice Semiconductor. THL previously acquired AMI in 2024.

According to a statement, during THL’s hold, the firm worked with AMI’s management team to strengthen the company’s organizational capabilities, enhance its commercial strategy, deepen relationships across the semiconductor and hyperscale cloud ecosystem, and position the business to capitalize on the accelerating investment cycle in AI and compute infrastructure.

> “AMI exemplifies the type of business in which we seek to invest – one that provides differentiated technology at the heart of an important and growing ecosystem,” Jim Carlisle, managing director and head of technology and business solutions at THL, said in a statement.

Discussing how portfolio companies are using AI for value creation, Carlisle explained:

> “Across our TABS portfolio, we are working closely with management teams to make AI a strategic priority, integrating it into multi-year product and operating plans rather than treating it as a series of isolated experiments. Over the past couple years, the conversation has shifted from experimentation to execution, with AI increasingly serving as a tangible value creation lever.

> “We see AI driving impact in several ways: accelerating revenue growth through product enhancement, improving efficiency in core workflows and supporting cost discipline through automation. Our Strategic Resources Group, comprised of experienced operators, partners with management teams, helping to translate these opportunities into execution, while best practices and learnings are shared across the portfolio.

> “In our software businesses, we have seen particular successes through targeted, high-ROI deployments. For example, Bynder, a digital asset management platform, has embedded AI capabilities into its product suite, creating incremental, AI-derived revenue. AMI reflects another approach, supporting the infrastructure behind AI adoption with its firmware, including the use of AI to assist with lower-level code development in servers and devices.”

Restaurant sector growth

Interest in the franchising model and the pursuit of value to reach consumers amid inflation is driving continued private equity interest in the restaurant sector. In a deal announced on Tuesday, Golub Capital made an investment in Church’s Texas Chicken.

Founded in 1952, Church’s serves customers Texas-style fried chicken. Based in San Antonio, Texas, the business has more than 1,500 restaurants in the US.

In 2021, the brand was acquired by High Bluff Capital Partners and Future Standard. The investment from Golub will be used by Church’s to accelerate its next phase of its growth.

• In June, Local Favorite Restaurants acquired Cotton Patch Café from Altamont Capital. Based in Nacogdoches, Texas, Cotton Patch is a comfort food chain that makes Texas-styled dishes. The chain operates 46 restaurants across Texas and New Mexico.
• Bessemer Investors-backed Mas Restaurant Group sold its 43 Ohio locations to Southpaw in another June deal. Based in Houston and Columbus, MRG is a Taco Bell franchisee.
• In another June deal, LongRange Capital agreed to acquire fast food chain Pizza Hut from Yum! Brands for about $1.5 billion. Pizza Hut China, which is excluded from the transaction, will be sold to Yum China for approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.