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FirstLight Fiber, the fiber-optic
bandwidth infrastructure services
provider operating in New York and
Northern New England, has had a
packed year so far, starting with a
change of ownership and wrapping
up with two acquisitions that prom-
ise to add scale and flexibility to the
company’s already growth-friendly
business model.
Earlier this year, Oak Hill Capi-
tal Partners acquired the company
from its previous private equity own-
er, Riverside Partners (Riverside
Partners is continuing as a minority
investor in FirstLight). Scott Baker,
a partner at Oak Hill, said that the
firm saw an immediate opportunity
to grow the company’s geography
and revenue.
“FirstLight possesses all of the
attractive characteristics and growth
potential that Oak Hill seeks in our
fiber investments,” he said. “We see
tremendous opportunity to create
additional value by continuing to ex-
pand FirstLight’s fiber footprint while
also pursuing acquisitions. We are
delighted to join forces with First-
Light’s talented management team
and with Riverside Partners to help
drive this next phase of growth.”
Kurt Van Wagenen, president
and CEO of FirstLight Fiber, said
that Oak Hill is committed to ex-
panding FirstLight’s value propo-
sition. To that end, the company
recently announced its intention to
acquire Oxford Networks in Maine
and Sovernet Communications in
upstate New York. Upon the closing
of both these transactions, they will
be combined with FirstLight.
Oxford is a fiber-optic bandwidth
infrastructure services provider op-
erating in Maine, New Hampshire
and Massachusetts; it began as a
local telephone company more than
100 years ago. Throughout its histo-
ry, Oxford has transitioned itself into
a leading regional provider of fiber
and cloud services through invest-
ments in its network and facilities,
as well as the acquisition of neigh-
boring BayRing Communications in
2015. During Novacap’s investment
period, Oxford more than doubled
its core revenues and expanded its
network reach to Boston.
Sovernet, meanwhile,
is a fiber-optic bandwidth
infrastructure services
provider operating in Vermont, New
York and southwest New Hamp-
shire, offering high-capacity network
transport, broadband Internet and
voice services.
The combined companies will op-
erate a total of approximately 9,500
route miles of high-capacity fiber
optic network and 11 data centers
across New England and New York.
FirstLight is no stranger to acqui-
sitions; buying segTEL in 2011 add-
ed a fiber network in New Hamp-
shire, Maine and into Vermont, as
well as a wholesale customer base;
acquiring in 2013 Vermont-based
TelJet added a dense fiber footprint
throughout Vermont, a colocation
facility in Burlington, Vt., connectiv-
ity to New York City, Boston and an
international presence in Montreal;
and in 2014 FirstLight acquired New
Hampshire-based G4 Communica-
tions’ assets, which added a roster
of customers and a colocation facil-
ity in Manchester, N.H.
“We had previously integrated
all of these companies to create a
platform for growth – and we have
seen significant organic growth be-
cause of that, year-over-year,” Van
Wagenen said. “Oak Hill recognized
the power of this as a platform and
saw an opportunity to invest further
to expand geographically and orga-
nizationally.”
Oxford should close by the end
of the year, and Sovernet in the first
quarter; until then, the company is
working on integration planning.
The priority, Van Wagenen said, is
to maintain the company’s unique
value proposition.
“We don’t want to take our eye
off the ball in terms of
serving existing cus-
tomers and driving or-
ganic growth – it’s our top focus,” he
said. “We’re going to move quickly
but be thoughtful with the integra-
tion, to make sure we’re enhancing
the overall platform as a business.
We’ll take a look at the collection of
systems we now have across the
business and what we’ll standardize
going forward. And then we’ll seek
new opportunities to better serve
our customers.”
The company’s differentiating
approach to customer service will
be another priority for the combined
company, he added.
“The fabric of how we serve
our customers is being involved
in the community, with local sales
and local support,” he said. “As
we get bigger, we are ensuring
that we continue to maintain that
local presence and that differen-
tiating point against some of the
larger players.”
Going forward, the company will
look to acquire or build network in
geographies where its large cus-
tomers have needs. “We’re going to
leverage our larger network to serve
the needs of existing customers and
bring on new ones where possible,”
Van Wagenen said.
FirstLight Poised for
Growth After Acquisitions
By
Tara
Seals
PROFILE
89
September - October, 2016
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