Grain Management, LLC has announced its third acquisition this month. The private equity firm says it has agreed to purchase a majority interest in Hunter Communications, Inc., which Grain says owns and operates one of the largest private fiber-optic networks in Oregon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.
Founded in 1992, Hunter provides data and voice service to residential and business customers in southern Oregon and parts of northern California. It also offers technical support and engineering services to position itself as a sole source provider of telecommunications. "Through this investment, Grain is committed to supporting the strategic development of Hunter and its high-quality, 2,011-mile fiber network," said Michael McKenzie, managing director at Grain. "Our value creation strategy will focus on partnering with Hunter's highly skilled management team to densify and expand Hunter's footprint and advance its position as a leading regional connectivity provider."
"Hunter Communications is ideally positioned to further penetrate a growing fiber market with the backing of our new partners at Grain, who bring decades of communications industry expertise,” added Hunter Communications Founder and CEO Richard Ryan. “This partnership is proof of the progress the Hunter team has made, establishing itself as an industry leader, servicing our customers for over 25 years. Our team is looking forward to the further expansion of our network as we continually improve the quality of our customer experience."
The Hunter announcement follows Grain’s agreements this month to acquire stakes in Florida’s Summit Broadband (see “Grain Management to buy Florida’s Summit Broadband”) as well as Ritter Communications of Arkansas. The equity firm also has stakes in Great Plains Communications and WANRack.
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