Buffalo, Ind.-based LightStream has agreed to purchase Monon (Ind.) Telephone Company, Inc. for an undisclosed price. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, which are expected to be final in the first half of 2024.
Lightstream’s original name was Pulaski White Rural Telephone Cooperative (PWRTC) and the company continues to be known by that name.
PWRTC was formed in 1954 and serves the Buffalo, Pulaski, Monticello, Royal Center, Star City and Winamac areas. To better reflect a focus on fiber and the multiple communications services that PRTC offers, the company changed its name to LightStream in 2014, although the company continues to be known as PWRTC as well.
Monon Telephone Company was founded in 1900 and has been family owned since 1921.
The Monon acquisition would add to LightStream’s existing fiber network in White and Pulaski Counties. Customers added through the potential acquisition can add managed Wi-Fi service to their home or business, in addition to internet and phone services, Lightstream/PWRTC noted in an announcement of the deal.
In the announcement, LightStream noted that it has invested more than $42 million in its network, although the company didn’t indicate over what time period that occurred.
“We have been neighbors to Monon since we started as a phone company in 1954,” Brent Gillum, LightStream CEO, said in a prepared statement. “Adding the town of Monon and its surrounding area fits perfectly with our existing coverage and service platform.”
