Great Plains Communications $500M financing targets new network expansions

Great Plains Communications (GPC) has closed $500 million in financing to refinance debt and fund future capital expenditures and expansion.

Fifth Third Bank acted as this transaction's Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent.

The service provider, continually expanding its fiber networks for consumers and businesses across Nebraska, Iowa, and Southeast Indiana, will use the funds to expand further and enhance its network, optimize operations, and support advanced technologies.

Todd Foje, CEO of Great Plains Communications, said this financing “ensures we can accelerate our expansion and provide the robust infrastructure required to support economic development and advancement in today’s digital economy."

At a time when consolidation in the independent service provider industry continued to pick up, Grain, which has the backing of Grain Management, has emerged as an aggressive force.

It owns and operates one of Midwest’s largest privately owned fiber networks.

Expansion has been a key element of GPC’s story. The service provider has made various upgrades in Nebraska and Southeast Indiana throughout the past year.

A notable development was in Kearney, Nebraska, with fiber assets in Kearney and surrounding areas of Grand Island and Lexington and fiber assets in the Colorado communities of Blackhawk and Central City in 2021 through the acquisition of Kearney, Nebraska-based USA Communications.

Meanwhile, in Southeastern Indiana, GPC expanded its fiber broadband footprint to 1,200 additional locations in Aurora, Vevay, and other areas. In addition to Vevay and Aurora projects, funding provided by the Next Level Connections (NLC) Broadband Grant Program is being used to deliver fiber services to 292 unserved or underserved residential locations in the counties of Bartholomew, Decatur, and Ripley.

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