PORTLAND, Maine — State and federal regulators have approved letting Lewiston-based Oxford Networks purchase the New Hampshire Internet and data center company BayRing Communications, for an undisclosed price.
The purchase combines 2,000 miles of fiber-optic network in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and positions the company to compete regionally for data center, wholesale and retail broadband customers.
Oxford said the network has access to about 50,000 commercial buildings. Its network also includes data centers in Boston, Portsmouth, Brunswick and the Bangor area.
“We are excited to have this merger approved to begin a new era for both organizations,” said Craig Gunderson, Oxford Networks’ CEO, in a news release.
Gunderson will lead the joint company as BayRing President Ben Thayer retires from that position.
The company said that each will continue operating under the same names for the time being and continue to maintain central offices in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Lewiston.
The BayRing acquisition comes a little more than one year after the Canadian private equity firm Novacap closed a deal to buy Oxford Networks for $50 million. Last year, Novacap unveiled a $6 million investment in Oxford Networks’ data center in a former Navy communications center at the redeveloped naval base, Brunswick Landing.
Francois Laflamme, a senior partner with Novacap, said at the time he expects the company to seek a mix of local, regional and national customers.
Oxford parent company Oxford Networks Holdings Inc. sought approval from the FCC for the transaction in June, writing that it planned to take a 100 percent ownership interest in BayRing’s parent company, Utel, which was entirely owned by its previous president, Thayer, and family members.
The FCC formally approved the deal Aug. 26 and state regulators approved the purchase on Aug. 20. Filings with the Maine Public Utilities Commission do not specify the amount of the transaction, but they do state the purchase was made through a combination of debt and new equity investment from Novacap.