Lightpath Buys United Fiber & Data

There was an interesting M&A in the infrastructure space this morning.  Lightpath has announced the acquisition of the assets of United Fiber & Data.  The deal takes Lightpath south all the way to Ashburn in one fell swoop.

UF&D built a new fiber route from the NY/NJ metro area down to the data center metropolis that is northern Virginia starting back in 2013.  It was one of the first new, unique intercity routes to be built by an independent entity, and it took a unique path to do it.  Rather than utilize the, uh, overutilized I-95 corridor, UF&D took the western route out through Pennsylvania, hitting Reading, Lancaster, and York along the way.  We had project-backer and rockstar Chad Taylor here for an Industry Spotlight at the time to talk about it.

Some six years later with the project finally completed, they added metro depth  and started offering lit services as well.  The assets Lightpath will take over include the 323-route-mile longhaul network, some 79-route miles of metro in the NY/NJ metro area, and a high-fiber-count and fourth Hudson River Crossing.  Those assets will complement their existing depth in NY/NJ and offer opportunities to expand into markets along the path to the southwest.  Lightpath has already been expanding in Boston and down in Miami in recent years.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to close in Q3 of this year.

 

If you haven't already, please take our Reader Survey! Just 3 questions to help us better understand who is reading Telecom Ramblings so we can serve you better!

Categories: Fiber Networks · Mergers and Acquisitions · Metro fiber