Fiber broadband provider i3 Broadband has acquired Big River Broadband and its wholly owned subsidiary Circle Fiber, for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, with the full company taking on the i3 Broadband name.
i3 Broadband serves parts of Illinois and Missouri. Big River Broadband/Circle Fiber is a 20-year-old company that provides fiber broadband in southeast Missouri.
The acquisition will bring additional high-speed fiber broadband infrastructure to i3 Broadband, which has been owned by investment firm Wren Management since 2020. Additionally, the company is expected to invest an additional $100 million to grow the southeast Missouri market and provide next-generation broadband services to additional communities.
Existing Big River Broadband/Circle Fiber customers with fiber infrastructure will continue to benefit from gigabit internet speed options without data caps, full-featured fiber phone service and fiber IPTV — i3 Broadband plans to expand those offerings in new neighborhoods in the near future.
Big River Broadband/Circle Fiber currently serves customers in Cape Girardeau, Perry, St. Genevieve, St. Francois, Butler, Washington, Bollinger, and Scott counties in Missouri. The company has received funding in the past though the USDA ReConnect Program, receiving money for an FTTP project.
“Big River Broadband/Circle Fiber shares our vision of providing customer-focused fiber optic telecommunication services to homes and businesses,” i3 Broadband CEO Paul Cronin said in a prepared statement. “Since our launch in the St. Louis market, we have been looking for a trusted partner to accelerate the growth of our footprint in Missouri.
“Big River Broadband/Circle Fiber is providing state of the art products and services in southeast Missouri, making it a perfect fit.” Cronin added, “We look forward to working with Big River’s outstanding leadership team, integrating as a company, and welcoming their employees to i3 Broadband.”
