WOODSTOCK, N.B. — Rural broadband and Manitoba mobile wireless provider Xplornet Communications announced Thursday it has agreed to be acquired by U.S. private equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners.
Stonepeak will acquire a controlling stake in Xplornet, while the company’s current chairman of the board, Steve Weed, and his fund WaveDivision Capital, will remain material investors in the company, the news release says. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the coming months.
Thursday’s announcement comes after reports earlier this week from The Globe and Mail and Bloomberg.com, saying the acquisition deal was in the works. The Bloomberg report estimated the deal to be worth US$2 billion.
According to Xplornet’s news release, the acquisition will further the company’s plan to accelerate investment in its national hybrid fibre wireless and satellite broadband network to deliver improved service for rural Canadians. In 2019, Xplornet announced it will invest $500 million over the next five years in its facilities-based network, enabling it to deliver broadband and 5G wireless services nationally to rural Canadians.
The acquisition of Xplornet is Stonepeak’s second investment in a telecom business with a presence in Canada. In 2017, Stonepeak acquired a majority interest in Denver-based data centre company Cologix, which operates 16 interconnection colocation facilities across Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
Stonepeak is committed to supporting the existing Xplornet business plan focused on Canadian rural broadband, the news release says. Xplornet president and CEO Allison Lenehan and the current executive team will continue to lead Xplornet and the company will remain headquartered in New Brunswick.
“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,” Lenehan said in the news release. “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.”
