FirstLight is going to the M&A well yet again, reaching a deal to acquire Nashua, New Hampshire-based 186 Communications.
By acquiring 186 Networks, FirstLight will get access to a Northeast network that consists of 1,900 route miles of fiber.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not revealed.
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“This acquisition is very complementary to FirstLight’s existing network and capabilities.” said Kurt Van Wagenen, president and CEO of FirstLight, in a release. “It extends our network reach further into Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, adds an impressive roster of customers, and builds on the strong, positive momentum we have had over the past several years.”
186 Communications is also a member of the Joint Trench Partnership (JTP) in Boston and has a fiber ring in each of the A, B, and E loops. Prior to announcing its merger with FirstLight, 186 built two fiber routes from points in New Hampshire to Boston and interconnected them with the JTP rings. The service provider also manages three colocation facilities, including one located at its Nashua headquarters.
Similar to earlier acquisitions the service provider made of Sovernet and its pending deal for Finger Lakes Technologies Group, the 186 Communications buy is another chapter in FirstLight’s story.
After completing the 186 Networks and Finger Lakes Technologies deals, the company will operate a network that extends a total of 14,000 route miles, connecting nearly 8,000 locations and 12 data centers across the Northeast.
FirstLight has emerged as an aggressive regional fiber consolidator. After itself being bought by private equity firm Oak Hill Capital last March, FirstLight hatched other deals to acquire, Finger Lakes Technologies Group and Sovernet Communications. Oak Hill also combined Oxford Communications’ operations with FirstLight.
In April, FirstLight took its collection of fiber network acquisitions from the Oxford and Sovernet deals and rebranded them under the FirstLight name, giving the service provider a consistent look and feel for its customers.