Grain Management to buy Florida’s Summit Broadband
Grain Management, LLC, a private equity firm focused on communications, says it has agreed to buy a majority interest in Summit Vista, Inc., doing business as Summit Broadband, a fiber-optics telecommunications services provider in Florida. Grain will acquire the stake from Cable Bahamas Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. The purchase, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close during the fourth quarter of this year. Deutsche Bank provided committed debt financing for the transaction.
Summit Broadband serves customers in Central and Southwest Florida via a fiber-optic network of more than 1800 fiber route miles. In operation since 1994, the company offers voice, video, data, and high-speed internet to residential and commercial customers, as well as Ethernet and dark fiber to enterprise and carrier customers.
"Summit has an impressive history of serving businesses across multiple industries and residential customers in central and southwest Florida communities," said David Grain, founder and CEO of Grain Management. "As a global investor in the industry, Grain is poised to partner with Summit in advancing its position as a leading fiber-optic telecommunications provider, and aid in the expansion of these services in an increasingly smart and connected world."
The deal’s announcement today comes a week after Grain announced it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Ritter Communications, an independent telecommunications services provider with operations in Tennessee and Arkansas. The equity firm also owns a stake in Great Plains Communications, which closed its own purchase of InterCarrier Networks earlier this month.
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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.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.