Xplornet Communications, based in Woodstock, New Brunswick, has announced it will be acquired by Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm based in New York.
The New Brunswick company offers rural broadband service and the agreement means Stonepeak will take a controlling stake in the company. Stonepeak manages over $17 billion USD as a North American focused infrastructure firm.
According to Xplornet, the acquisition will “accelerate investment in its national hybrid fibre wireless and satellite broadband network for rural Canadians.”
Xplornet will remain at its current headquarters in New Brunswick and its CEO and executive team will remain.
“We are excited that Stonepeak has agreed to acquire Xplornet and is strongly committed to continuing our mission of providing rural Canadians with world-class broadband services.” said Allison Lenehan, President and CEO of Xplornet, in a statement. “Stonepeak’s investment will position Xplornet to accelerate development of our facilities-based broadband network and services, enabling much faster speeds, including unlimited data plans at affordable prices for rural Canada.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the coming months, reads a press release.
Last year, Xplornet announced it would invest $500 million over the next five years to bring hybrid fibre wireless and satellite technology to deliver broadband to rural Canadians.
News of the acquisition was reported earlier this week by The Globe and Mail, with one source claiming the deal was at around $2 billion USD.
