Cogent acquires Fiber Network Solutions
February 28, 2003--Cogent Communications Group, Inc. has acquired the Internet service business of Fiber Network Solutions, Inc. (FNSI). FNSI is an Internet access and colocation service provider that is privately held and headquartered in Columbus, OH. FNSI provides Internet service to businesses located in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. As part of the deal, Cogent also acquired five colocation facilities, including those located in Columbus, Pittsburgh, PA, and Detroit, MI.
Cogent expected to complete the migration of all FNSI customers onto Cogent's all-optical IP backbone by 6:00 a.m., EST this morning.
"Two factors combined to make this acquisition very attractive and almost immediately accretive for Cogent," said Helen Lee, CFO of Cogent Communications. "One, migrating FNSI customers onto the Cogent-owned and operated backbone enables us to eliminate the high costs associated with FNSI's leased network backbone. And two, streamlining staff and eliminating redundant infrastructure significantly reduces the overhead."
"Cogent continues to aggressively evaluate new acquisition targets as we become aware of opportunities. In this turbulent environment, Cogent has had great success in acquiring companies and assets that quickly accelerate our business plan objectives and bring us substantial revenue," said Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer.
The acquisition of the FNSI Internet services business was completed through Cogent's wholly owned subsidiary, Cogent Great Lakes Communications, Inc.