NEW YORK- Triton Cellular Partners L.P., Malverne, Pa., completed the acquisition of Blue
Mountain Cellular Telephone, which offers wireless telecommunications in south-central and eastern Oregon and
southeastern Washington.
Triton did not disclose the purchase price. However, it said it closed recently on a $500
million credit facility, led by Toronto Dominion Bank and J.P. Morgan Capital. Proceeds will be used to finance the
Blue Mountain acquisition, refinance existing debt and provide $100 million in spare capital for additional
acquisitions.
Triton was founded in 1997 by former executives of Horizon Cellular Group, Bell Atlantic Corp.,
AT&T Corp., PriCellular Wireless and Comcast Corp., along with two venture capital firms, Chase Capital Partners
and J.P. Morgan Capital.
With the Blue Mountain acquisition, Triton Cellular now operates cellular networks in 20
regional rural clusters in Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon and Washington covering 2.4 million people.
Last
year, the company said, it “achieved its business charter of acquiring 2 million POPs significantly ahead of
schedule.”
Jim Akerheilm, chief executive officer of Triton Cellular, said the carrier “is poised for
aggressive growth in 1999 … [and has] the ability to immediately pursue expansion opportunities to further develop our
clustering strategy … in rural areas.
“We are committed to achieving a leadership position in each of our
markets through superior company-operated distribution, quality digital networks and local customer care and
support.”
