The transaction will comprise of $305 million in cash and $80 million of Shentel common stock, no details of when the deal is expected to complete, has been given.
Shentel is to fund the deal with a combination cash, revolving credit facility capacity and an amended and upsized credit facility.
“The acquisition of Horizon is a transformative transaction that we believe will allow us to accelerate our Fiber First strategy by doubling the size of our commercial fibre business and creating a new beachhead for our Glo Fiber business. We now expect to pass 150,000 additional homes with fibre in greenfield markets, targeting 600,000 total passings by the end of 2026,” said Christopher E. French, resident and CEO at Shentel.
“We are excited to combine Horizon’s robust fibre network and commercial fibre business with our 9,000 route-mile, multi-state fibre network and accelerate our Glo Fiber expansion. Horizon and Shentel share a similar history and a passion for outstanding local customer service while providing state-of-the-art technologies. We believe our teams’ core competencies will complement one another, translating to a stronger combined business.”
Horizon is a commercial fibre provider in Ohio and surrounding states serving national wireless providers, carriers, enterprises, and government, education and healthcare customers.
Its footprint is comprised of a unique 7,200 route-mile fibre network that has over 9,000 on-net locations. Almost 64% of Horizon’s revenues are derived from their commercial customers.
Founded in 1895 as the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in Ross County, Ohio, more recently, the company has pursued a strategy of investing in fibre-to-the-home in tier 3 & 4 markets in Ohio.
“We are proud of the success Horizon has experienced in partnership with Novacap and GCM Grosvenor over the past five years building a leading broadband company in Ohio,” added Jim Capuano, CEO at Horizon Telcom.
“The transaction with Shentel creates an exciting opportunity for our customers and the communities we serve to continue to receive best-in-quality broadband service and an opportunity for our employees to continue to be integral contributors to a leading super-regional provider.”
