Louisville-based telecom- services provider Zayo Group said Monday it acquired Citynet Fiber Network in an effort to increase its presence across 12 states.
Although financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Zayo purchased the wholesale assets of Tulsa, Okla.- based Citynet, adding to Zayo’s network of fiber-optic cable used to provide private data services. The deal doubles Zayo’s route mileage to 17,000 miles of fiber across 1,443 buildings in 95 U.S. markets.
“The Citynet acquisition connects nearly all of the prior Zayo networks,” said Zayo chief operating officer John Scarano. “The reach covers Chicago to Philadelphia to New York and Washington, D.C., and back.”
Zayo has a total of 325 employees, with about 50 in Colorado. The acquisition will not result in a reduction of workforce, as the Citynet employees are needed to help meet growing customer demand, Scarano said.
Last year’s venture-capital investment of $225 million is helping fuel Zayo’s growth. Investors included Centennial Ventures, Columbia Capital and Oak Investment Partners. This is Zayo’s fifth acquisition since last spring.
The company is experiencing growth in connecting businesses, such as hospitals, that are looking to share information across a close private network. Cellphone carriers, Scarano said, also are buying fiber to support the growing amount of bandwidth needed to carry video and Internet traffic from mobile switching offices to cellular towers.
Kimberly S. Johnson: 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com
