Independent Full Fibre Network, DGtek, Raises Over $7m

DGtek, an independent provider of ultra fast, full fibre broadband services and a superior alternative to NBN, has raised more than $7m, in a Series A round, to further expand its network reach across Australia.

The investment round was led by MA Financial’s (formerly Moelis Australia) Growth Capital Fund alongside investment from clients of Treia Capital, including one of Australia’s leading family offices.

DGtek founder and CEO David Klizhov said the capital will enable DGtek to further expand its network across eastern Australia, and continue to deliver superior ultra fast broadband connectivity for its residential and commercial customers.

“The capital will help us reach 1 million homes and businesses by 2024. Moreover, we are proud to be able to deliver superior connectivity, capacity and speed for our customers, at a fraction of the cost of the NBN” he said.

“The NBN continues to fail its customers across inner Melbourne and beyond. We are determined to meet the needs of businesses and residents – where unconstrained connectivity is an essential requirement during these times of increased work from home.”

The Series A round comes two years after the last raise in June 2019 and follows a period of rapid expansion of the company’s network and customer base. A portion of the Series A capital has enabled the acquisition of FG Telecom, a fibre network company serving business customers in and around Port Melbourne and the Melbourne CBD, which expanded the company’s network coverage by over 25 per cent.

Managing Director at MA Financial, Jaron Yuen, said “We are pleased to be able to support DGTek in its growth ambitions. We have been impressed with the team’s focus on delivering a superior service to wholesale customers supported by deep expertise in building and managing ultrafast broadband networks on a cost effective basis.”

For Treia Capital, who originally invested back in 2019, the successful Series A raise is further vindication of the performance and potential of the company, as well as an opportunity to increase its shareholding.

Michael Robinson, Principal at Treia Capital, said “The investment in DGtek fits perfectly for Treia and our clients. Through its end-to-end full fibre network, DGtek is offering an increasingly essential service to business and residential customers. We’re excited to support the company in its organic and acquisition growth strategies, with the aim to deploy significantly more capital over the coming years.”

Dev Oza, former FG Telecom CEO and now enterprise and commercial sales lead at DGtek, said the acquisition of FG Telecom has positioned DGtek to further target the commercial sector, expanding its reach beyond the current 100,000 residential and business connection footprint.

“FG Telecom’s primary goal, much like DGtek’s, has always been to provide customers with a quality product. Unlike a lot of the big players, we aren’t under constant pressure to streamline and cut corners in an effort to boost up the share price. The capital raise which facilitated DGtek’s acquisition of FG Telecom is evidence of the fact that even investors are becoming more confident about the tremendous value and growth potential that challenger brands like FG Telecom and DGtek bring to the market. I’m very excited to be a part of this journey and lead DGtek’s foray into the enterprise and commercial space.”