Midwestern telecommunications provider Great Plains Communications (GPC) has acquired Enhanced Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), a fellow telco provider from southeastern Indiana. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is M&A deal 390 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2020. See the full M&A deal list here.
Originally founded as the Sunman Telephone Company, ETC has operated for more than 85 years. The company serves over 14,000 business, wholesale, and residential customers, offering high-speed internet, ethernet, voice, video and transport.
GPC Acquires ETC: Executive Commentary
Todd Foje, CEO of Great Plains Communications, commented on the news:
“Now that the acquisition process is complete, we can begin working as one company to not only provide exceptional services and enhanced products to our current customer base, but to identify strategic opportunities to serve new markets and expand our network. We appreciate the legacy of the Miles family at ETC and welcome our new employees and customers.”
Chad Crank, Managing Director at Grain Management said:
“We believe the trend of increasing bandwidth demand will only continue. The robust Great Plains Communications network is designed to meet these capacity needs and to support the advances in technology that are driving the trend. Expanding this impressive network strategically into areas of opportunity like Indiana positions the company for further growth.”
GPC’s Private Equity Backing
GPC was backed by private equity firm Grain Management in the deal, the second time in nearly a year the two have worked together. GPC previously acquired InterCarrier Networks in August 2019.
Great Plains itself was a family-owned service provider for more than 100 years until Grain Management acquired the firm in June 2018. The buyout set the stage for Great Plains to pursue network services acquisitions, the companies said at the time.
