US cableco Cable ONE (Sparklight) has agreed to acquire a 45% stake in Mega Broadband Investments from affiliates of private equity firm GTCR, for approximately USD574.1 million. The transaction is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2020 and Cable ONE expects to fund the deal through cash on hand. Going forward, in addition to the minority stake it will acquire, Cable ONE will have the right to purchase the remaining interests in MBI at a ‘predetermined multiple of earnings’ beginning in 2023.
TeleGeography notes that MBI was formed through a series of rural broadband acquisitions, including Vyve Broadband, Northland Communications and Eagle Communications. The assets were unified under the Vyve name this Spring, and the company now provides data, pay-TV and voice services to residential and business customers in rural markets across Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Vyve Broadband’s network currently passes approximately 630,000 homes.