Boston Omaha Corp. (NASDAQ: BOMN), via wholly owned subsidiary FIF Utah LLC, has purchased Utah Broadband, LLC (UBB) for $21.6 million in cash and the issuance of 20% of the common membership interests of FIF Utah, valued at $5.4 million. UBB founder and CEO Steve McGhie will continue as CEO and retain a 20% initial ownership stake in the newly formed entity.
As its name implies, UBB provides broadband fiber and fixed wireless internet service to more than 10,000 customers throughout Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, Provo, and surrounding communities in Utah. Boston Omaha stated on December 17, 2020, the date on which it announced the signing of the purchase agreement, that it plans to fund a fiber-to-the-home expansion project for UBB.
"Steve has built UBB into a first-class business with a focus on delighting customers and bringing high speed data internet connections to difficult to build communities in the Wasatch mountains,” commented Adam Peterson, co-CEO of Boston Omaha alongside Alex B. Rozek. “Boston Omaha has now committed to fiber-to-the-home buildouts in various geographies through the acquisitions of AireBeam in Arizona, its partnership with Dream Finders Homes, and UBB. We look forward to making significant additional capital investments to bring the fiber internet network of tomorrow to more and more households."
Boston Omaha notes that a portion of the cash purchase price is being held in escrow to provide a source of indemnification for any breaches of the representations and warranties, covenants and other obligations of UBB, its members, and McGhie under the agreement.
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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.