Acquisition Adds 2,000+ Fiber Broadband Miles in Illinois, Indiana, and Underserved Areas of Kentucky
BLAIR, Nebraska, August 6, 2019 — Great Plains Communications, the largest privately-owned telecommunications provider in Nebraska and a Grain Management portfolio company, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of InterCarrier Networks (ICN), a high-capacity, fiber-optic network carrier with unique routes in Illinois, Indiana, the St. Louis metro area, and Kentucky.
Headquartered in St. Louis, InterCarrier Networks provides critical bandwidth infrastructure solutions to telecommunications carriers and major enterprises in Midwestern markets where cost-effective bandwidth transport has traditionally been difficult to obtain. Its services are delivered over a high-quality, ring-structured fiber-optic network covering 2,037 route miles.
“The Great Plains Communications vision has always been strategic growth in anticipation of the current and long-term needs of our customers,” said Todd Foje, CEO of Great Plains Communications. “InterCarrier Networks is a valuable addition, enabling us to extend our market along existing ICN routes in Illinois and Indiana, while providing an exciting opportunity to bring new communications routes with valuable fiber broadband into two major underserved Kentucky markets. We look forward to serving these customers with the modern services and speeds they need to meet their goals and grow their businesses.”
First announced in May 2019, the ICN acquisition follows Grain Management’s October 2018 platform investment in Great Plains Communications. “This strategic expansion is an early win towards our goal of accelerating growth to meet rising bandwidth demands,” said Chad Crank, Managing Director at Grain. “We continue to leverage Grain’s deep industry relationships to source high-value, strategic investments, and we are excited by the opportunities we continue to see to expand in the region and increase value.”
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Great Plains Communications
Great Plains Communications is the largest privately-owned telecommunications provider in Nebraska, delivering high speed Internet, cable television, and voice services to over 90 communities across the state. The company also prides itself on their progressive approach to accommodating the unique needs of all regional and national telecommunications carriers, LECs, ISPs, wireless carriers and other service providers utilizing superior engineering and custom build strategies. At the core of its service offering is an extensive 9,500-mile regional fiber network, including over 400 fiber miles in the Omaha Metro area. The network extends beyond Nebraska into Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, offering community access rings, last-mile, and middle-mile solutions, all fully supported by their 24x7x365 Network Operations Center. For more information visit www.gpcom.com.
About Grain Management
Grain Management, LLC is a leading private equity firm focused on investments in the global communications sector. The firm was founded in 2007 with the objective of bringing a differentiated approach to the industry characterized by expansive sector knowledge, rigorous analytics, and dedicated, in-house operating and financial professionals. Grain is directed by a team of highly experienced investment professionals with deep industry knowledge and a specialized skill set, marked by extensive operating history, quantitative and analytical proficiency, and regulatory expertise. For more information visit www.graingp.com.
About InterCarrier Networks
Founded in November of 2009, with headquarters in St. Louis, MO, InterCarrier Networks is a regional fiber optic carrier operating a high-capacity fiber-optic network spanning Indiana and Illinois. Since its founding InterCarrier’s core mission has been to provide high-capacity fiber-optic bandwidth transport capacity to smaller and underserved markets in Illinois and Indiana. Its network transports bandwidth between smaller markets and major telecommunications hubs in Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis. InterCarrier Networks operates as a carrier’s carrier, providing high-capacity bandwidth transport to the nation’s largest telecommunications carriers. For more information visit www.intercarriernetworks.com.
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