RCN/Grande has closed its previously announced partnership with Wave Broadband (Wave), a leading regional broadband fiber company offering a full suite of high-speed data, video, and voice services to residential and business customers. The company continues to operate as a branded entity, headquartered in Kirkland, Washington.
“By combining RCN/Grande and Wave, we are creating a leading, national-scale internet provider and cable TV operator with significant growth potential,” said Jim Holanda, CEO of RCN/Grande. “We are pleased to announce the close of this transaction, and look forward to our continued growth led by a strong focus on customer service and commitment to providing the highest quality high-speed internet, TV, and voice services available.”
“We are excited to expand our national footprint in seven of the top 10 DMAs with almost 950,000 customers,” commented RCN/Grande Chairman and industry veteran Steve Simmons. “In both the residential and business segments, our management team, joined with Wave, will continue top tier industry growth.”
Wave is a regional incumbent broadband services and cable TV provider reaching 690,000 homes and over 280,000 customers including more than 13,000 unique commercial clients in Washington, Oregon, and California. The company maintains a “high-speed data first” strategy and has nearly 8,000 miles of owned fiber supporting its market-leading enterprise fiber business. As part of the transaction, Founder and CEO Steve Weed joined RCN/Grande as a director.
“Together, RCN/Grande and Wave create a market-leading broadband platform with national reach,” said David Trujillo, partner at TPG. “The combined platform is providing businesses and residents across the country with fast, high-quality, and reliable communications services that allow them to rapidly access the content they crave. We look forward to our continued work with the RCN/Grande and Wave teams.”
On May 22, 2017, TPG Capital announced it was backing RCN/Grande to combine with Wave Broadband for $2.365 billion. The combination creates the sixth largest cable company in the U.S. and expands RCN/Grande’s robust high-speed broadband services platform. TPG Capital acquired RCN and Grande through separate transactions in 2016. The firm has a long history of investing in digital media and entertainment, with investments such as Airbnb, CAA, ipsy, Lynda.com, RentPath, Spotify, Uber, and Vice Media.
