Metronet Infrastructure Issuer is preparing to sell $903.4 million in asset-backed securities (ABS), its latest communications infrastructure securitization.
The master trust issuance, Metronet Infrastructure Issuer, Series 2026-1, will sell the notes through two tranches of notes, A2 and C, with the A2 tranche issuing the bulk, $628.3 million, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency.
Metronet's notes are secured by a mix of assets, including a first-security interest in the underlying fiber network, current or future customer contracts, and transaction accounts.
Metronet 2026-1 includes several key changes, KBRA said. Its ARRR is $561.3 million, up from $488.1 million, from 2025-4.
In another change, when the deal closes the indenture will be amended to allow it to issue liquidity funding notes, KBRA said. These will serve as a liquidity backstop to fund shortfalls in the liquidity reserve account. The liquidity funding notes will not be issued at closing, though, and will only be available after Metronet 2026-1 meets certain conditions.
Any withdrawn amounts could increase the outstanding balance and must be repaid over time, and all liquidity funding notes will be designated as class A-1L notes.
Both tranches of notes have an anticipated repayment date of April 2031, and a final maturity date of April 2056, KBRA said.
The rating agency assigns A- and BB- to the A2 and C tranches, respectively. Meanwhile, it affirmed the ratings on outstanding notes from the series 2025, the rating agency said.
Analysts at Fitch say the underlying debt in the 2026-1 A2 and class C notes have leverage multiples of a net cash flow of 8.6% and 12.1%, respectively.
The pool consists of 696,734 customers, both rating agencies said. KBRA notes that this is an increase from the 608,810 customers in the series 2025-4 notes. Customers are primarily residential, representing 74% of the contracts, and commercial customers accounting for the rest, Fitch said.
Metronet 2026-1's commercial customer pool is highly diverse, KBRA said, with the top five commercial customers accounting for only 2.3% of commercial annualized run rate revenue (ARRR).
