Rural Broadband Investments (RBI), a consolidator of US cable operators founded in November last year, has struck its first deal.
Private equity firm GTCR, which owns the company, said RBI acquired cableco NewWave Communications from Pamlico…
Rural Broadband Investments (RBI), a consolidator of US cable operators founded in November last year, has struck its first deal.
Private equity firm GTCR, which owns the company, said RBI acquired cableco NewWave Communications from Pamlico Capital.
The cableco, which operates across four Midwestern states, has 90,000 customers.
While a deal size was not disclosed, a media report estimated the asset to have a value of around US$300m.
RBI targets smaller cablecos in the US. RBI CEO Phil Spencer had said previously that the company believes that “the small-to-middle sized markets and rural cable providers are at a competitive advantage to provide triple-play offerings to customers.”
The company aims to reach a size of 300,000 to 400,000 cable subscribers by making multiple acquisitions.
GTCR’s purchase of NewWave will be made from GTCR Fund X, which has US$3.25bn of committed capital.
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey served as exclusive financial advisor to GTCR and has committed to provide the debt capital to support the transaction alongside Goldman Sachs. The banks will serve as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners on the financing. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel and PriceWaterhouseCoopers served as accounting advisor to GTCR.
Waller Capital Partners served as an advisor to RBI.
“GTCR has been evaluating numerous opportunities within the cable industry,” said Phil Canfield, MD at GTCR. “We look to build a leading cable platform through increasing high-speed data penetration, growth in commercial services and accretive acquisitions.”
RBI CEO Spencer described the acquistion of NewWave as “a great first step [that] provides us with an excellent platform to build upon”.
