NYC, New Jersey fiber companies to merge
New York and New Jersey metro-area fiber companies ZenFi Networks and Cross River Fiber are merging into a private-equity-backed company in order to scale their infrastructure business.
ZenFi and Cross River said that the combined company “will create the leading communications infrastructure provider in the New York and New Jersey metro areas.”
No financial terms of the deal were disclosed. The merger is expected to close later this year, pending regulatory approvals. The combined company will have more a fiber optic network of more than 700 route miles, with 130 on-net building, 49 colocation facilities and 1,700 outdoor wireless sites — and more than 3,000 more such sites under contract, according to ZenFi and Cross River. The new company will be led by the current ZenFi and Cross River management teams, the companies said, with support from Ridgemont Equity Partners — which is a majority shareholder of Cross River Fiber. George Morgan, partner at Ridgemont Equity Partners, said in a statement that the merger is “a natural progression for both ZenFi Networks and Cross River Fiber as the companies have complementary markets and service offerings.”
“The merger of ZenFi Networks and Cross River Fiber allows us to scale our communications infrastructure portfolio across the region, providing a robust fiber and colocation platform enabling the deployment of a wide range of digital services by mobile network operators, telecommunications service providers and large enterprises,” said Ray LaChance, CEO of ZenFi Networks, in a statement. “The combination enhances our network reach, deepens our product portfolio, and delivers a next generation network infrastructure that is the foundation of tomorrow’s communications networks. In addition, our partnership with Ridgemont Equity Partners further strengthens ZenFi Network’s financial position by providing access to additional capital to continue to deliver on our vision of building the most pervasive and high capacity connectivity platform in the region.”
LaChance said at a recent event at the University of Maryland that ZenFi was expecting to build nearly 10,000 curbside nodes in the next three to four years and that in the last two years, his company has seen “huge growth in the number of antennas that have to be deployed in the New York metro.
“We have seen a huge surge in pole-top installation outdoors, to where now, there’s antennas coming up on every intersection,” he said. “The capacity is clearly tapped out on the macros, and we’re seeing this happen at street level.”
Vincenzo Clemente, CEO of Cross River Fiber, said in a statement that “while both companies have achieved great success to date, as a combined business, our geographic footprint and product capabilities are greatly expanded. We can now offer custom telecommunications solutions in New York, New Jersey and beyond to more wireless mobility, carrier and enterprise customers than ever before. Our teams are cut from the same cloth – we’re both builders and owners of purpose-built fiber optic networks and wireless infrastructure – and together we will provide that cutting-edge network architecture of both fiber and wireless services to an even bigger customer base.”
Watch an interview with LaChance on laying dark fiber in NYC below:
