Mercury Broadband and global private markets investment firm Northleaf Capital Partners on Nov. 8 announced Northleaf’s acquisition of a controlling interest in Mercury Broadband.
According to a press release, funds managed by Northleaf will invest up to $230 million over the next several years to support Mercury Broadband’s vision to accelerate the deployment high-quality broadband internet services for underserved, rural communities across the Midwestern U.S.
Mercury Broadband is a leading provider of high-speed Internet and digital phone services for homes and businesses across select rural markets in the Midwest. The company was founded in Topeka, Kansas, after recognizing a need for broadband services in the underserved markets.
The company said its hybrid approach to serving the “last mile” customers was developed by extending high-capacity fiber-optic networks with the range, reliability, and flexibility of carrier-class wireless technologies to provide next generation services to customers.
Garrett Wiseman, CEO at Mercury Broadband, commented:
“The investment by Northleaf represents a major milestone for our company. We have ambitious growth plans and, with strong investment partners like Northleaf, we can fulfill our goal of aggressively delivering advanced, high speed Internet services to more underserved communities.”
An RDOF mandate
Mercury Broadband is a recent recipient of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) grants by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to bring fiber optic broadband to underserved communities across the U.S. Midwest.
The company's new fiber-optic construction is expected to span over 12,000 miles and deliver high-speed Internet to tens of thousands of customers. The RDOF award together with the investment from Northleaf will support the company’s objective of expanding essential fiber infrastructure to rural communities.
Construction on the new service areas has already begun. The deployment effort will take approximately six years and will include hundreds of fixed wireless access sites, along with more than 12,000 miles of constructed outside fiber plant.
Services will be built and launched across select markets in Kansas, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.
Chris Rigobon, director at Northleaf, concluded:
“We have been impressed by Garrett and the team at Mercury Broadband and are excited to partner with them. Their ten-year long track record of responsibly participating in government programs to help connect communities positions them well in the current environment. Mercury Broadband’s commitment to bridging the digital divide is an excellent fit with our communications infrastructure investment strategy and provides our investors with exposure to an attractive sector with a compelling risk/return profile and significant growth potential.”
Truist Securities, Inc. served as the financial advisor and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld LLP served as legal counsel to Mercury Broadband on the transaction. Northleaf was advised by Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP.