Investment firm GI Partners plans to acquire fiber network operator DQE Communications (DQE) from its parent company, Pittsburgh-based utility company Duquesne Light Holdings Inc. (DLH). The value of the transaction, expected to close in the first half of next year, was not disclosed.
Upon completion, the transaction will provide DQE with additional resources to expand its fiber network.
DQE Communications, formed in 1997 as a subsidiary of power company DLH, has since expanded beyond its core Pittsburgh footprint. GI Partners, in making the acquisition announcement, described DQE Communications as the region’s largest independent fiber provider. The company’s infrastructure-oriented services include a 4,700-route mile fiber network that connects more than 3,000 businesses, towers and data centers.
With the capital infusion and additional resources from GI Partners, DQE said it plans to further expand its fiber network operations in response to the increasing demand for high-capacity, carrier-class bandwidth services by customers in the enterprise, carrier, wireless, education, municipal and government sectors.
GI Partners had made numerous telecom acquisitions in recent years. Among its most recent acquisitions was Rise Broadband.
“We are excited to partner with the DQE team, which has built the region’s most advanced carrier-grade, secure and reliable network serving preeminent enterprise and carrier customers,” said Brendan Scollans, managing director and co-head of GI Data Infrastructure, in a prepared statement. “Since its inception, DQE has been dedicated to deploying best-in-class network infrastructure, and we look forward to working with the DQE team to grow the platform in the years ahead.”
