US dark fibre operator Unite Private Networks (UPN) is open to acquisitions as it seeks to grow in tier-2 markets, said company president Jason Adkins.
Adkins (pictured) said UPN would consider a tuck-in acquisition or a “similar company to bring into the fold” provided it fits within its geography, product set and price range, a spokesperson for the privately-owned company confirmed.
Kansas-based UPN provides high-bandwidth, fibre-based communications networks and services to some 300 communities across 20 states, primarily in the central part of the country. Its customers include schools, governments, carriers, data centres and other businesses.
In mid-January, UPN secured a US$275.5m credit facility, arranged by SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and RBC Capital Markets, to fund expansion in Nebraska and Iowa as well as fibre-to-the-tower deployments for large wireless carriers.
“Some of that facility is still available and we would look at each deal individually with regards to how to fund the remainder,” the company spokesperson said.
UPN is also looking to grow organically and, in mid-August, announced that it had deployed dark fibre service to its 100th small cell site in Iowa as part of a state-wide build-out for a major wireless carrier. The company aims to add some 1,500 miles of new fibre across its network footprint in 2015.
Adkins said the company is experiencing ongoing demand from wireless carriers, school districts and enterprises, and described towers as a big part of its organic growth.
In terms of market consolidation, he expects a significant number of non-traditional players, such as tower companies or private equity firms, enter the fibre sector. Investors who had originally wished to invest in towers are increasingly looking at fibre, as the line between the two infrastructure segments blurs, he added.
Towerco Crown Castle has emerged as a potential consolidator in the fibre market. The Texas-based company made its first foray into the sector in September 2014, buying Baltimore-based 24/7 Mid-Atlantic Network for an undisclosed sum and thereby gaining access to about 800 miles of fibre cable. This April, it agreed to acquire Quanta Fiber Networks (Sunesys) for about US$1bn to strengthen its position in small call networks, more than doubling its fibre footprint for deployments and expanding its presence in major metropolitan areas.