Starry Internet is owned by the institutional lenders who took control of the company through its 2023 Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with ArrowMark Partners as the lead stakeholder. That ownership is set to change again: Verizon has announced a planned acquisition of Starry, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.1Starry. Update: Verizon’s Planned Acquisition of Starry
How the Lenders Ended Up Owning Starry
Starry Group Holdings and its subsidiaries filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on February 20, 2023. Obligations under the company’s prepetition credit agreement totaled roughly $287 million in principal, interest, fees, and prepayment premiums at the time of filing.2U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Starry Group Holdings, Inc. Form 8-K
The restructuring support agreement laid out a debt-for-equity swap. Holders of loans under the prepetition credit agreement would receive 100% of the common stock in the reorganized company, subject only to dilution from a management incentive plan and warrants tied to exit financing.2U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Starry Group Holdings, Inc. Form 8-K The lenders traded their debt claims for all of the reorganized company’s equity, and the previous public shareholders were wiped out.
The bankruptcy court set procedures requiring anyone who acquired at least 4.5% of the outstanding common stock to file a notice, an indication of how tightly controlled the process was.3Securities and Exchange Commission. Starry Group Holdings, Inc. Form 8-K Starry emerged from bankruptcy later that year as a privately held company and stopped trading on the over-the-counter market.
ArrowMark Partners and the Current Owner Group
Because the lenders received all of the reorganized stock, ownership landed with the institutional investors who had held Starry’s debt. ArrowMark Partners, which served as agent to the lender group, emerged as the dominant stakeholder. ArrowMark’s relationship with the company predates the bankruptcy: the firm was an early equity investor and participated in the PIPE during Starry’s 2022 SPAC merger.4U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Starry, Inc. to Go Public in Business Combination with FirstMark Horizon Acquisition Corp.
Earlier venture backers such as Tiger Global Management and FirstMark Capital lost their equity positions along with the rest of the public shareholder base. Whether any of those earlier investors also held debt claims that converted into new equity is not documented in available filings. What the record does show is that the restructuring concentrated control in the lending syndicate rather than the original investor group.
Leadership Under the New Owners
The ownership reset brought a change at the top. Chet Kanojia, who founded the company in 2014 and had served as CEO since, stepped down from the chief executive role on emergence from Chapter 11 and moved to a seat on the board of the new holding company. Alex Moulle-Berteaux took over as CEO and also joined the board.
The board, appointed by the new equity holders, oversees strategic direction and holds authority over major capital decisions. The executive team runs day-to-day operations and reports to the board on budget and performance. That structure gives the institutional owners direct influence over how Starry is run without operating the network themselves.
Verizon’s Pending Acquisition
The lender-owned chapter may be brief. Verizon has announced a planned acquisition of Starry, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.1Starry. Update: Verizon’s Planned Acquisition of Starry If the deal closes, Verizon becomes the outright owner of Starry’s network infrastructure, spectrum licenses, and subscriber base.
Until then, the current owners remain in place. Starry has told existing customers that nothing changes during the transition and that the same team continues to provide service. Verizon has not publicly committed to maintaining the Starry brand or the existing rate structure after the deal closes.
Where Starry Operates Today
Starry continues to run its fixed wireless broadband network in five metropolitan markets: Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. Availability depends on the specific address, because the rooftop-based technology has a limited coverage radius from each base station.5Starry. Starry Internet – High Speed Internet, Low Monthly Price Ownership questions aside, service in those cities is being delivered by the same operating company that existed before the bankruptcy, now under the control of its former creditors and awaiting the Verizon transfer.