Oak Hill Capital takes service provider Otelco private
Service provider Otelco Inc. (formerly NASDAQ: OTEL) says that it has completed its sale, announced last July, to an entity formed by Oak Hill Capital (see "Oak Hill Capital to buy wireline services provider Otelco"). The private equity firm has paid $11.75 per share in cash, representing a total equity purchase price of approximately $40.6 million, for Otelco, which provides services in Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Vermont, and West Virginia. The company will now be delisted from NASDAQ.
Otelco’s network passes more than 67,000 locations. The company uses the infrastructure to offer local and long-distance telephone, digital high-speed data lines, transport services, network access, cable television, and other related services. It also provides retail and wholesale communications services and technology consulting, and managed services.
Otelco will complement other Oak Hill companies such as NetSpeed LLC (doing business as GoNetspeed) in Pennsylvania and Connecticut and Lantek Fiber Optic Services, Inc., which provides fiber construction services that Otelco and GoNetspeed can use to extend their footprints. “We are excited to work with Otelco, GoNetspeed, and Lantek to expand the availability of fiber-based data services in the communities where the companies operate,” said Scott Baker and Benjamin Diesbach, partners at Oak Hill. “We are thrilled to partner with Richard Clark, who will continue to serve as president and CEO of the combined group of companies, and the rest of the senior management teams to become a leading fiber-to-the-premises operator in the northeastern United States.”
“This is an exciting day for Otelco, GoNetspeed, and Lantek, and their customers. With the full strategic and financial support of Oak Hill, we are now uniquely positioned to rapidly expand our fiber network investments and provide exciting new capabilities to current and prospective customers and communities,” added Clark.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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